From a little distance, it looks like Phil Goldberg has a thriving business. He has about 150 investors who have poured $27 million into the company. He has about 200 employees working at three locations. His company – just four years old – is now valued at $60 million. But despite rapid growth and good prospects for the future, he cannot get a loan from a bank because the national banking laws treat his business to be illegal.
Goldberg grows and sells medical marijuana, which is legal in Maryland, but not under federal law. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Green Leaf Medical, a grower of medical marijuana that is distributed by dispensaries. The company has three locations, including a 45,000-square-foot site in Frederick.
As News-Post business writer Erika Riley reported recently, the federal Bank Security Act (BSA) requires banks to report any suspicious behavior or illegal activity by its customers, and that includes selling drugs that the federal government considers dangerous.
Most of the big national banks have been advised by their lawyers to steer clear of a marijuana business. The same is true with credit card companies. But times may be changing.
Read more at fredericknewspost.com