I didn't see any diary or FP article on this news from yesterday:
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration is planning to roll out regulations soon that would allow banks to do business with sellers of legal marijuana.
During an appearance Thursday at the University of Virginia, Holder said it is important from a law enforcement perspective to enable places that sell marijuana to have access to the banking system so they don't have large amounts of cash lying around.
Currently, processing money from marijuana sales puts federally insured banks at risk of drug racketeering charges.
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
This is great news for those of us fighting for full legalization of marijuana. To read how big a problem this is check out an article in a Jan 11 edition of the NY Times:
SEATTLE — In his second-floor office above a hair salon in north Seattle, Ryan Kunkel is seated on a couch placing $1,000 bricks of cash — dozens of them — in a rumpled brown paper bag. When he finishes, he stashes the money in the trunk of his BMW and sets off on an adrenalized drive downtown, darting through traffic and nervously checking to see if anyone is following him.
Despite the air of criminality, there is nothing illicit in what Mr. Kunkel is doing. He co-owns five medical marijuana dispensaries, and on this day he is heading to the Washington State Department of Revenue to commit the ultimate in law-abiding acts: paying taxes. After about 25 minutes at the agency, Mr. Kunkel emerges with a receipt for $51,321.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Let us keep up the momentum on this front.