Eric Holder answers Colorado's representative Jared Polis's questions regarding the Banking Industry and Medical Marijuana.
Colorado Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) wasted no time in taking advantage of his appointment to the Judiciary Committee. Polis questioned Attorney General Eric Holder last week during an oversight hearing on the Department of Justiceand asked whether the Ogden memo was still in effect.
Holder said the memo (PDF) – which stipulated that the Justice Department would be unlikely to prosecute people on federal drug laws if they were in compliance with individual state’s laws regarding medical marijuana – is still in effect.
Polis, noting that medical marijuana businesses face a difficult, if not impossible, task in opening bank accounts, asked Holder whether the Department of Justice would prosecute banks or law-abiding medical marijuana businesses for deposits related to sales of marijuana. Again, Holder said such cases would be a low priority.