PayThink The STATES Act will bring needed clarity to cannabis payment law
September 25 2018, 12:01am EDT
by Heather Peterson Altepeter (on PaymentsSource)
Currently, more than 30 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana (cannabis) and/or marijuana-based products for various purposes.
Unfortunately, however, this legalization conflicts with federal laws, which still cite cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In the banking world, federal law trumps state laws — making it illegal for banks to work with merchants in this particular vertical. As a result, cannabis sales declared legal by states are transacted in cash.
Can you imagine being a business owner with a garage full of unprotected cash and the inability to make large purchases the legitimate way? For many cannabis merchants, that scenario is their reality.
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