SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California lawmakers have killed a plan to create a state-backed bank to handle money associated with the recreational marijuana market.
California’s legal recreational pot industry is the world’s largest.
Most banks, though, won’t handle money affiliated with the industry because marijuana is still illegal under federal law. That’s forced marijuana growers, distributors and sellers to operate with cash.
The bill by Democratic Sen. Bob Hertzberg died Thursday in an Assembly committee without debate.
Hertzberg said requiring marijuana businesses to deal in cash posed dangers for operators. He called his plan a "creative approach" to a problem he hoped the federal government would eventually solve.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
