The blossoming marijuana industry in the United States has seen
exponential growth over the past two years a many states began to
legalize recreational use of the drug. However, conflicting state and
federal laws mean that legal marijuana dispensaries often struggle to
find a bank that will accept their business.
As banks are bound by federal laws and could face penalties for dealing
with drugs, many are unwilling to engage with cannabis companies. The
result has been an excess of cash for marijuana firms, something that
they say is increasing their need for security as the risk of robbery
has become a real problem.
However, Native American tribes may step in to help as tribal laws
permit marijuana businesses on their reservations and their experience
in the gaming industry has made many tribes financially savvy.
CannaNative
Southern California's Acjachemen Nation has founded CannaNative,
an organization that aims to unite the US' 566 sovereign American
Indian nations to create an American Indian banking system. The brain
child of Anthony Rivera, such a system would allow cannabis businesses a
more secure way to store their cash while bringing in much needed
revenue to America's tribes.
A New Way To Bank
Rivera says that years of managing casinos has prepared most tribes for
undertaking a marijuana banking venture. He says that the problems
marijuana firms are facing closely mirror those that Native Americans
overcame back in the 1980's when gaming operations were legalized on
tribal grounds. Rivera says that using such a model, tribes can create a
legal way for marijuana firms to bank on the reservations.
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