Legal Marijuana Dealers And The Government Need Bankers And Lawyers

As of today, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medicinal marijuana and four have legalized its recreational use as well. Despite that, marijuana remains a so-called Schedule I controlled substance – alongside “hard” drugs like heroin, cocaine, and LSD – and federal law still makes the distribution of marijuana a crime, even in those states where it is legal.

It is not unusual for legal marijuana businesses to become entangled in government investigations. Although it wasn’t my focus, as a former federal prosecutor I sometimes investigated unlawful drug trafficking organizations. Following the drugs and money back to their source increasingly led to marijuana businesses in states that had legalized it.

In many cases, the “legal” marijuana business was knowingly involved in the unlawful distribution. But on more than one occasion, legitimate marijuana businesses were victims of circumstance. In one case, for example, a licensed grower in California...

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URL: 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2015/06/01/legal-marijuana-dealers-and-the-government-need-bankers-and-lawyers/