Banking for Medical Marijuana

Banking services for marijuana vendors are hard to come by because the federal government uses its authority over these financial institutions to enforce the Controlled Substances Act. However, this situation may be changing.

The proposed Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act would shield financial institutions from federal ramifications of making its services available to marijuana-related companies. The bill would block federal regulators from punishing or penalizing a bank or its employees for providing services to marijuana-related businesses. It would also protect these institutions from persecution and forfeiture simply for providing services to a marijuana-related business, and exempt marijuana-related business accounts from disclosure reporting requirements intended to identify individuals engaging in federally illegal activities.

At the state level, Oregon is considering a measure that would allow businesses selling marijuana to establish checking accounts and merchant services. It remains to be seen how this will intersect with federal law.