Maine’s cPort Credit Union is canceling its medical cannabis caregiver storefront accounts due to a lack of state regulations, WMTW reports.
In Maine, caregiver storefronts can legally sell cannabis products to patients, but they are smaller businesses than dispensaries and do not operate within the same licensing structure.
Andrew Pettingill, the owner of Portland-based Evergreen Cannabis Company, told the news station that he received via email a letter from the credit union’s president and CEO, Kelsey Marquis, saying that his business account — and all other unaffiliated caregiver accounts held with the credit union — will be closed on July 31.
“cPort Credit Union has made the difficult decision to discontinue financial services for caregiver accounts that are not affiliated with a licensed cannabis dispensary or adult-use cannabis business. As banking regulatory expectations continue to evolve, we have carefully reassessed our risk exposure and concluded that this change is necessary to ensure ongoing compliance with federal and state expectations.” — Marquis, email excerpt via WMTW
Meanwhile, the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) has proposed bills to align the banking regulations for medical cannabis caregivers with those for cannabis license-holders, but lawmakers have repeatedly rejected the proposals, the report said.
“Now they’re saying, OK, we’ll go back to no banks, just put your money in shoeboxes,” Pettingale said in the report.
Get daily cannabis business news updates. Subscribe
Ganjapreneur is made possible by our partners:
