Colorado's marijuana firms beg banks to take their cash

"Let's just say we have a couple of armed staff," he says.

The owner of Pink House, a marijuana dispensary in Denver, Colorado, Mr Klug has armed his employees because he has been unable to find a bank that will accept the thousands of dollars of cash he takes in each day since recreational cannabis became legal in Colorado on 1 January.

"Even armoured cars have been told not to do business with us," says Mr Klug.

That's because while Colorado has legalised cannabis, most banking institutions are governed by federal laws which make it a crime to take money from firms engaged in the cultivation and sale of what is technically still an illegal drug.

While the Obama administration has recently attempted to convince banks that it will not prosecute them for doing business with Colorado's firms, issuing new guidance just last week, the banking industry remains unmoved.

"An act of Congress is the only way to solve this problem," says Colorado Bankers Association president Don Childears, who says he has continued to advise banks to refuse cannabis cash out of fear of money-laundering charges.

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