BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — If you've purchased legal marijuana in the past three months, you've likely noticed there's only a few ways you can do it.
The young industry is still working its kinks out, both here and across the country.
The legal cannabis industry was less than one month old when WMAR last checked in with KIP Dispensary's Matthew Hersh in Cockeysville. Business is good, but finding consistency in how that business gets done has been tough.
"In the last three months, we've gone through three different payment providers for debit cards," Hersh noted.
Legally, right now, their customers can't use credit cards—it's cash or debit only.
Traction on Capitol Hill could change the way shops like Hersh's do business; the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee OK'd the 'SAFER Banking Act' —a version of an older effort —and put it on the calendar for a Senate vote.
It would create more banking opportunities for legal cannabis and pave the way for a big one: credit card payments.
In a statement to WMAR, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who sits on the committee, called marijuana criminalization "draconian."
“As we move away from the era of draconian marijuana criminalization laws – and states like Maryland legalize recreational cannabis – it’s important to amend federal laws to allow the cannabis industry to operate in a safe manner. The SAFER Banking Act is one important step forward in eliminating the industry’s current cash-only economy and the many risks and burdens that come with it. That said, we should also address the unjust legacy of the failed ‘war on drugs’ by advancing criminal justice reforms – including the expungement of non-violent criminal records for marijuana offenses – for which people of color have long been disproportionately impacted. I made clear that we should vote on such reforms when this bill is considered by the full Senate."
Hersh—who runs a smaller shop—says he sees a potential issue.
"Even with the SAFE banking act, smaller cannabis companies are still going to be considered risky banking loans. And the bigger dominant ones are going to be able to become more dominant. And they're already the ones that are not suffering as much during this process," Hersh said.
"We are excited about any progress that's made—we keep track of it and hope there's going to be changes to the way we can bank—but the reality is until descheduling happens or federal legalization, it's only going to be stepstones," Hersh added.
