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Pot and banking don’t mix, the Ohio Bankers League said Wednesday in opposing a November
election proposal to legalize marijuana.
“Our board of directors voted to oppose state Issue 3 because of the conflict it would create
between state and federal law,” Mike Adelman, league president and chief executive officer, said in
a statement.
The league represents 200 large and small commercial and savings banks and savings and loan
associations, with assets up to $3 trillion.
Adelman said the board decided to oppose Issue 3, a proposed state constitutional amendment that
would legalize marijuana use for recreational and medicinal purposes, because marijuana is illegal
at the federal level. Thus, if Ohio institutions handled financial transactions for marijuana
businesses, they could be in violation of several federal laws, including the Controlled Substances
Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Patriot Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act.
“This conflict between state and federal law would put the Ohio banking industry in an untenable
position and would render the marijuana industry an all-cash business, creating public-safety
issues and money-laundering concerns,” Adelman added.
The league also voted to endorse state Issue 2, a so-called “anti-monopoly” constitutional
amendment proposed by the General Assembly that would make it harder for backers of special
economic interests, such as marijuana, to put issues on the statewide ballot.
Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, the group backing the marijuana amendment,
said in response, “The Yes on 3 Amendment does not require Ohio banks to take the billions of
dollars generated from Ohio’s regulated marijuana industry. Therefore, the Ohio Bankers League has
no legitimate concerns to deposit.”
Adelman said in an interview that just eight banks in Colorado, where marijuana is legal for
recreational and medicinal use, do business with marijuana-related companies. “They’re not getting
along very well. We’ve had a number of conversations with bank officials in Colorado recently.”
It has posed a problem for the marijuana industry in Colorado, prompting many growers and
related companies to do business in cash, including paying bills and salaries.
The Fourth Corner Credit Union in Denver, which wants to provide financial services to the
Colorado marijuana industry, was turned down this summer by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City. The credit union cannot operate without a federally approved “master account.”
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