Los Angeles • Billions of dollars are expected to flow through California’s legitimate marijuana industry next year when recreational pot becomes legal, but most of those businesses won’t be able to use banks.
The reason: Many banks don’t want anything to do with pot money for fear it could expose them to legal trouble from the federal government, which still lists marijuana as illegal - and regulates the banking industry. There is particular uncertainty over how the Trump administration will react.
Because of those fears, pot dispensary operators in the 29 states where the drug is legal, either for medical or recreational purposes, often find themselves nervously handling obscene amounts of cash.