Eh? Last dispensary I did business with was a chain and they took my credit card no problem.
It’s possible that a chain can more effectively launder their money…
Really? That’s interesting. My understanding was that because marijuana is still illegal under federal law, banks (at least banks with FDIC or other government ties) could not legally handle accounts from dispensaries as they were treated, under federal law, the same as illegal drug dealers. Credit card processing would seem to fall under the same sort of interstate commerce rules, too.
Does anyone know the actual laws on this?
What state was that? In Washington State it’s a cash-only deal. The shops do have ATM’s, so you can use a debit card in a roundabout way. Also, I pay pretty close attention to local news, and I rarely if ever hear of pot-shop robberies. Fake news?
I’ve definitely seen one shop in Seattle accept credit cards. I don’t recall which specific shop it was or how / why they were able to set it up. Maybe some local banks are willing to take the risk?
But the vast majority of shops are absolutely cash-only.
There are some dispensaries in Vegas as well that take credit cards. But on the days leading up to starting recreational sales, the local news kept hammering the point that the dispensaries were all cash-only.
Is it possible that some stores are, ahem, not telling their banks what their actual business is?
More than simply possible. Some of them are very good at hiding it from prying eyes, as well, but most get found out eventually.
I’ve seen several dispensaries in Colorado that take credit cards, and others that are cash only. The charge gets rung up as something fairly generic. Maybe I’ll ask how they handle the credit cards next time I’m in there. I’m kind of curious.
To add to this list, I’ve heard the same about dispensaries (medical) in California being the same way. Some take credit, most do not.
EDIT:
That makes me wonder, if you have a medical marijuana prescription, how is that even handled on insurance not based in-state? Is anything even covered? I’m guessing not, but I thought we have a few medical users here, perhaps they can update.
Here’s a funny thought:
States tax those sales.
Is that state tax revenue considered illegal by the federal government?
Well we may get to find out, thanks to one Jefferson Beauregard ‘I’m not racist but…’ Sessions.
He hates the devils herbs you see.
Remember the Fed mantra: “Do as I say, not as I do.”
Pretty sure insurance won’t cover it at all. Least that’s how it is in NV, and considering how wildly insurance companies contort themselves to sometimes not even cover fully legal meds, I can’t imagine it’s much different in other states.
I mean, I guess that makes sense in the current legal limbo. But certainly it does not as they move toward isolating different compounds from marijuana and even offering them in pill form for the use thereof.
I saw this pop up for California. So, yay for legalization there. But heaven forbid you illegally grow any, you might have the SWAT team show up, or even be killed. Meanwhile, you could grow your own tobacco in every state, and it kills more people and causes more health issues. No permit or license needed, and no regulations on the sale of it.
Insurance, AFAIK, does not cover medical marijuana. After all, the insurance companies aren’t getting kickbacks from the growers like they do from the pharmaceutical companies. Getting the traditional medication your doctor prescribed, and not some alternative that the insurer makes more money off of, is hard enough.
Conservatives hate it because they equate smoking weed with liberalism. Those long-haired hippies were pot smokers, after all! Didn’t you see Easy Rider!
Sure, plenty of good people like a toke now and then, but they are responsible about it and keep it on the down low, like they keep other things on the down low. Legalizing it is opening the gates to Sodom and Gomorrah!
Don’t forget people of color. In his own mind pot smoking is closely linked to black people.