Although eight states and the District of Columbia will now allow adult recreational use of marijuana and another 20 states will permit marijuana to be used for medical purposes, the industry is still being stymied in its efforts to access banking services. Since cannabis remains a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, a classification that also applies to heroin, LSD and ecstasy, financial institutions fear that dealing with marijuana establishments will expose them to highly punitive measures. Facilitating monetary transactions in marijuana, if determined to be money laundering, could be fined at twice the amount laundered and accompanied by a 20-year prison sentence.
In light of this unsatisfactory state of affairs, Singlepoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) welcomed the recent request (http://nnw.fm/qBH4k) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), by 10 senators, for further guidance ‘to financial institutions on their ability to provide services, specifically to indirect businesses that do nothing more than provide services to the state-sanctioned marijuana industry’. The letter set out three reasons why it makes sense for marijuana shops to have bank accounts: it makes the collection of state and federal taxes easier; it makes it more difficult for criminal elements to be involved in the industry, and less cash means less likelihood of armed robberies.
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Singlepoint, Inc. (SING) Singles Out Three More Reasons for Marijuana Mills to have Bank Accounts
