TOB_Magazine

[ 68 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MAY / JUNE | 18 ] B By all accounts, cannabis and cannabis-related businesses can be lucrative—and the field of play is growing steadily. Already, 30 states and the District of Columbia have laws that broadly legalize marijuana in some form, and more states are considering similar legalization proposals. But while there is clearly money to be made, the players in this nascent industry face a huge hurdle: where to stash the cash they rake in. The issue stems from reluctance on the part of financial institutions to work with businesses related to mari- juana sales in any way—even when those businesses are located in states that have legalized cannabis. Whether you’re looking for startup capital, hoping to set up merchant processing so as to accept credit cards from your customers, seeking a way to pay your vendors by check or trying to deposit your profits into a savings account for the funds, if your business model involves selling or distributing cannabis—or even servicing a marijuana- related business—banks are likely to turn you away. Perhaps worse yet, if you already own a shop, deciding to dabble in cannabis may put your existing banking relationships in jeopardy. ➤ C a $ h Concerns Sure, there’s money to be made in the burgeoning marijuana industry. But howwill you bank it? BY JENNIFER GELFAND ALTERNATIVE Cannabis’