Cash only: What's standing in the way of Florida's medical marijuana patients

When Christina Cusack goes to see her doctor, she pays cash. When she goes to get her medical marijuana prescription filled, she pays cash. This is how the industry works in Florida.

"It's cash, a lot of cash and we're not talking a little bit, it’s $75 or $200 here and there, which is a lot of money for somebody like me to be carrying around," says Christina, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

"When you say cash, you have to have cash on you, again, not really safe."

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Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, something that has forced many banks to back away from the industry.

In March, Sun Trust began the process of shutting down the accounts of medical marijuana businesses, drawing sharp criticism from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who tweeted out, “I guess SunTrust doesn’t trust Florida voters.”

Fried has been joined by fellow Florida cabinet member CFO Jimmy Patronis in pointing out that even though Florida legalized medical marijuana, federal laws are still a concern for many banks and finical institutions.

“Legitimate Florida businesses in our medical marijuana industry face incredible security threats and increased opportunity for criminal activity due to the troubling lack of banking solutions,” wrote Patronis in a statement. “At no fault of their own, medical marijuana companies operating in our state are doing so as cash-only businesses and this is unacceptable. I ask Congress to step up and immediately approve legislation which will increase banking options for our country’s marijuana businesses.”

Congress is considering a bipartisan bill that would open up banking by creating “protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such businesses, and for other purposes.”

The bill, filed this year has support from eight Florida member of congress including Rep Darren Soto (D-Orlando), Rep Stephanie Murphy (D-Winter Park), and Rep Matt Gaetz (R- Fort Walton Beach).