The big banks have laundered hundreds of billions of dollars for drug cartels. See this, this, this, this, this and this (indeed, drug dealers kept the banking system afloat during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis).

The HSBC employee who blew the whistle on the banks’ money laundering for terrorists and drug cartels says said: “America is losing the drug war because our banks are [still] financing the cartels“, and “Banks financing drug cartels … affects every single American“.

And see this.)

And yet the banks refuse to provide banking services for LEGAL marijuana in states like Colorado which have blessed the sale of pot.

The Feds are a big part of the problem. After all, they support some ruthless, criminal drug cartels.

On the other hand, the sale of marijuana is still illegal under Federal law pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.

This is true even in California and other states which have allow medical or recreational marijuana. U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Co-op (2001) 532 U.S. 483 (medical necessity is not an exception to 21 U.S.C., §841(a)(1) governing the federal prohibition against manufacture and distribution of marijuana).

As the New York Times reported in May of 2011:

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but that has not stopped a fuzzy industry of marijuana farms and dispensaries from rising to serve the 15 states that allow the drug to be used for medical purposes. Under President Obama, the federal government had seemed to make a point of paying little attention — until now. *** As some states seek to increase regulation but also further protect and institutionalize medical marijuana, federal prosecutors are suddenly asserting themselves, authorizing raids and sending strongly worded letters that have cast new uncertainty on an issue that has long brimmed with tension between federal and state law. *** In Washington, Ms. Gregoire asked for guidance from the state’s two United States attorneys, Mike Ormsby and Jenny Durkan. In a reply to the governor last month, they said the federal government would prosecute “vigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.” *** When the Legislature was drafting the bill it passed in its most recent regular session, Mr. Ormsby said, “No one consulted with me about what I thought of what they were going to do and did I think it ran afoul of federal law.” Of the state’s current medical marijuana law, he added, “We believe, of course, under federal law no part of the state law is legal.” *** Ms. Smith noted that the 2009 memo “says definitively that distribution continues to be a federal offense.”

Indeed, the federal government appears to be escalating its crackdowns of medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

What hypocrisy …

Postscript: The big banks have also been laundering money for terrorists (the HSBC employee who blew the whistle on the banks’ money laundering for terrorists and drug cartels says that the giant bank is still laundering money, saying: “The public needs to know that money is still being funneled through HSBC to directly buy guns and bullets to kill our soldiers …. Banks financing … terrorists affects every single American.” He also said: “It is disgusting that our banks are STILL financing terror on 9/11 2013“. And see this)

But since the American government has backed the most dangerous and violent Muslim terrorists for decades – in order to “contain” rival Muslim factions – the government is partially to blame for this banking abomination as well.