Why did the U. S. Treasury Department issue a memorandum?

The U. S. Treasury Department issued a memorandum clarifying the government’s advice to the nation’s banks about how to deal with the booming cannabis industry. Treasury outlined a series of guidelines for " assessing the risk of providing services to a marijuana-related business". Most bankers and " potpreneurs" shrugged. The memo made clear that the manufacture and distribution of marijuana remains a federal crime, under the Controlled Substances Act, which means bankers who knowingly grant checking accounts or loan money to anyone in the cannabis industry risk federal prosecution for money laundering or conspiracy. Treasury’s letter wouldn’t change anything. Numerica Credit Union, Washington state’s fifth-largest, with $ 1. 3 billion in assets, is the first banking institution to publicly offer checking accounts to businesses that acquire licenses to sell recreational marijuana. Though risky, the potential rewards for becoming one of the first financial institutions to work with the marijuana industry are massive, say experts in the field. Twenty states across the U. S. and the District of Columbia now have medical marijuana laws on the books, and recreational pot is legal in Colorado and Washington. Despite the conflict with federal law, millions of dollars in cannabis transactions are taking place across America, with little to no fear that anyone will be prosecuted for them.