The Bank of Springfield Leaves Marijuana Industry Over Fed Fears
After two years of happily servicing Illinois’ medical marijuana industry, the Bank of Springfield is closing its doors to hard earned green cash, millions of it.
Why is the bank cutting ties with the state’s lucrative and well-run medical marijuana industry?
Jeff Sessions apparently scared the three-piece suits right off the good bankers when he revoked the Cole Memo in January.
The Bank of Springfield informed its clients working in the state’s MMJ program that their accounts will be terminated on May 21st, per the Chicago Tribune.
Dispensaries and distributors will be forced once again to deal strictly in cash.
“This is the closest we’ve been to being without banks in Illinois in this industry… which isn’t good,” said Ross Morreale, co-founder of Ataraxia cultivation facility and several dispensaries. “It makes everything more difficult.”
Even though the Bank of Springfield only deals with MMJ earnings, the management still felt compelled to drop all things cannabis as a way of “protecting their customers.”
Protect them from what?
“The Bank of Springfield will not jeopardize any of their customers by working with businesses that operate in the legal gray zone,” said Andrew Mack, spokesperson for Bank of Springfield.
Yes, that scary gray area. But it’s apparently okay if thousands of legal MMJ businesses, producers and associated areas have no place to safely keep their cash, pay workers, taxes and, on top of all that, jeopardize their personal security and future of the entire industry?
“For the industry at large, it’s a real kind of punch in the gut,” said Jeremy Unruh, director of PharmaCann, which operates two cultivation centers and four dispensaries.
Another dispensary owner, Gorgi Naumovski of Thrive Dispensary agreed.
“At the end of the day, (the bank is) protecting themselves and it just makes it tougher for all of us.”
A bank protecting itself over its clients’ interests…hmm, sound familiar?
