US banks still reluctant to open up to cannabis sector

Hope Wiseman says "at the mercy" of his bank that can close his account anytime. For this medical cannabis vendor, the recent passing of a law facilitating access to the banking sector for marijuana professionals is a first victory.

At the Mary and Main Clinic in Capitol Heights, Maryland, Ms. Wiseman's patients have migraines, chronic illnesses, or depression.

Cannabis for medical use is legal in 33 states and Washington. Eleven states and the US capital have legalized its sale for recreational use.

But federal law still sees cannabis as a tough drug, just like cocaine, and banks fear money laundering lawsuits if they work with marijuana professionals.

Hope Wiseman's bank is one of the few in the state to accept it as a client. "We pay huge fees because our sector is very special," says the young woman, who opened her business in the spring of 2018.

The transactions are mostly cash and the money takes several days to be deposited on his account. It must therefore "juggle the bills or salaries of employees".

Its bank account, which can be closed if the bank has a doubt about the legality of the transactions, is mostly used for cryptocurrency payments from its buyers, and it can not take out any credit, the large networks refusing at-risk clients like her.

– "Little step" –

The reluctance of banks also targets companies regularly or occasionally related to cannabis.

Jenn Michelle Pedini, head of development at NORML, one of the leading pro-cannabis lobbies, tells AFP she has "had problems" with the administration when her consulting company helped a cannabis vendor ride his business.

The sector is however in full expansion: it generates more than 10 billion dollars of income and could reach 56 billion in 2025, according to the lobbies pro-legalization.

But of the 11,000 banks and US credit institutions, only 700 work with companies related to cannabis, according to the Treasury Department.

Last week, the House of Representatives adopted a text to protect cannabis professionals and associated companies from possible legal or tax prosecution by the federal state.

The "SAFE banking Act" also reduces, according to his supporters, the risks of burglary or violent robbery in a sector where cash is king.

Opponents of the text denounce easier and less controlled access to the financial sector for drug cartels.

According to Tanner Daniel, Congress Relations Manager for the American Bankers Association (ABA), voting is a "necessary step forward".

– Tax income –

"The ABA does not take a position on legalization, but 99% of our members believe that clarification is needed," he said at a recent forum on the issue in Washington. According to him, 75% of ABA members closed the accounts of customers potentially associated with the cannabis industry.

The text must still be voted in the Senate, controlled by Republicans opposed to cannabis.

Michael Correia, from the National Cannabis Industry Association lobby, says the congress "is not yet ready to discuss legalization."

Progress must come from the local level, he says, where elected officials "follow polls and voters".

That's what Thiru Vignarajah, a former Maryland deputy prosecutor and Democratic mayor of Baltimore, wants to do.

If elected in April 2020, "we would be the first (in Maryland) to legalize, hoping that the state will follow," he told AFP.

He also wants to tax the proceeds from the sale of cannabis through a cryptocurrency guaranteed by the municipality, to invest heavily in education.

Legalization would also allow him to fight crime in Baltimore, one of the most violent cities in the country.

"The homicide rate is one of the highest in the country, and comes largely from gang warfare," he says, admitting that marijuana is only a part of the traffic.