Pubdate: Tue, 18 Dec 2012
Source: Sierra Vista Herald (AZ)
Copyright: 2012 Sierra Vista Herald
Contact:  http://www.svherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1379

CREATING A BLACK MARKET ECONOMY

Watching the contortions that Arizona - and now the nation - are
struggling to sort out on whether marijuana is legal or illegal is
comparable to 8-year-olds playing Twister.

Now comes a report from The Arizona Republic that banks and credit
card companies are staying away from handling transactions at medical
marijuana dispensaries, thereby creating cash-only economies for these
businesses.

Think for a moment of the dangers and criminal opportunities created
by forcing a business to deal only in cash. Buying marijuana at a
dispensary is comparable to the price of many medications now being
purchased at your local pharmacy - it can easily cost several hundred
dollars. Customers will be bringing cash to the counter. The burden on
the business side is no less worrisome, the Republic article states,
with owners constructing safehouse structures and relying on armed
transport for the currency generated by the business. Paying
employees, taxes and trying to convince the utility company that you
will be a reliable cash account is significantly more difficult when
banks and credit agencies will not handle your business.

What has prompted this policy at our financial institutions? Fear of
federal enforcement is driving the decision-makers, and who can blame
them? The Republic obtained a statement from the Phoenix Wells Fargo
bank which accurately reflects the danger all financial institutions
face if they choose to work with dispensaries: "While marijuana
legalization initiatives were recently approved in Colorado and
Washington, and medical marijuana dispensaries are legal in some
states, the sale and use of marijuana is illegal under federal law."

Conservative Arizona has done well in delaying and obstructing the
march toward the legalization of medical marijuana. At this writing,
Maricopa County prosecutor Bill Montgomery is still pursuing this
effort with a legal action asking the court to stop the opening of
dispensaries. Cochise County has joined this discussion with the
recent opening of Cathy's Compassion Center, the third dispensary in
the state and the first with cultivation authority.

A major effort to stop this law from taking effect was waged by Gov.
Jan Brewer, who pursued a legal opinion on whether state employees
would be liable under federal law for transactions with medical
marijuana businesses. The effort ultimately failed, with the federal
court telling Brewer to bring a court case, don't request an opinion.

Clarification and clear direction on what the federal government is
trying to accomplish in its handling of the issues surrounding
marijuana is apparently not part of the feds' game plan. It's the
right of the states to decide whether to embrace dispensaries, but
businesses conducting interstate commerce rely on the authority of the
federal government. Without clear direction on whether marijuana is
legal or illegal, and the fear of repercussion resulting in the full
force and authority of Uncle Sam, banks and credit card companies are
playing it safe by staying away.

Choosing to ignore the confusion created by this ongoing overlap of
state rights and federal law will simply continue the expansion of
costs that are ultimately paid by taxpayers through higher public
safety and missed tax revenue opportunity.

If not this situation with banks and credit companies, what issue will
prompt the federal government to clarify its handling of marijuana?
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D