BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The planned cannabis campus in South Buffalo will sell primarily health and wellness products plus some smokable products if marijuana is legalized.
There's just one catch if the campus opens next year: Cash only.
According to the Washington Post, banks are reluctant to invest in legal marijuana businesses because the drug is still illegal federally, and those banks may anger their regulators in doing so. /
"It's ironic that states have been able to legalize cannabis but the banking industry is far behind it," Jim Caccavo, the CEO of Flora, told reporters. "You've created a situation where you have a lot of cannabis businesses that deal with cash and we'd rather not deal in cash."
He said there is some effort in the works in the House of Representatives to allow FDIC banks to participate in the cannabis industry.
"It's in its early stages," he said. "It's a good first move and we're happy about it."
Many companies the sell marijuana have ATM machines inside their dispensaries, but strategic advisor Dasheeda Dawson said that those are still an inconvenience.
"By in large, people now pay on their phone (with their apps)," she said. "That is a new innovation in the industry as well."