Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is leading a coalition of 21 attorneys general urging Congress to approve legislation allowing legal cannabis businesses access to the banking system.
He said existing federal laws bar banks from dealing with cannabis businesses, forcing legal businesses to operate mainly in cash.
“I believe each state knows its industry and needs best and I urge Congress to pass legislation that will allow Nevada and other states to determine the best approach for regulating cannabis within their borders,” Ford said in a statement.
Either medical, recreational cannabis or both are now legal in 33 states and territories. Ford said making them operate almost completely in cash poses serious safety threats. He cited the murder of a security guard at a Colorado dispensary and the robbery that made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in California.
The proposed legislation, he said, has strong bipartisan support with 60 cosponsors in the House and 10 in the Senate.
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