The federal government has long waged a war against marijuana. Even as marijuana becomes legal in more and more states for recreational use, the feds are still lurking in the shadows. Remember when Barack Obama said he would respect state medical marijuana laws? And remember when Eric Holder said he would respect state marijuana laws (to much fan fare from the marijuana community both times)? Well consider a report that was released detailing how the federal government is still gathering evidence against marijuana companies across the country. Per Marijuana Business Daily:
The federal government has stockpiled more than 1,100 “suspicious activity reports” that could possibly be used to shut down state-sanctioned marijuana companies across the country, according to the report. In just a seven-month period this year, between February and August, banks filed over 475 “marijuana termination” reports, essentially telling the feds that they shut down accounts because of potentially criminal activity.
The suspicious activity reports were born from guidelines for banks and the cannabis industry established by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which were ironically were meant to make it easier for marijuana companies to get bank accounts.
As long as the federal government prohibits marijuana, the feds will always go after the marijuana industry. No matter what the President says, and not matter what the Attorney General says. We can never get complacent, no matter how many states have passed reform. We must keep fighting until federal prohibition ends.
