Lawful Marijuana Businesses Should Be Able to Bank, Says U.S. Attorney General

Three cheers for common sense. Speaking at the University of Virginia last Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that lawful marijuana businesses should have access to the American banking system and that the government would soon offer rules to guide their relationships with banks.

Let’s hope so, because that is the only common-sense way to go about it, and for the twenty states that have legalized marijuana in some form or fashion, the alternative is something close to sabotage. If we are going to permit marijuana businesses to operate but then paint them in a corner by forcing them to hoard cash under their proverbial mattress, we should not feign shock or dismay if, for example, they come to rely on guns for protection, or if we leave potential tax revenue on the table, or if other ills follow as a result. “You don’t just want huge amounts of cash in these places,” according to Mr. Holder. “There’s a public safety component to this.”