LULZ: Visa Disallows Payments for Medical Marijuana
Loads of potheads and hippies are completely butthurt over their inability to purchase their “medical” marijuana at California dispensaries using a Visa credit or checking card. That’s because it is against Federal law for the credit agencies to finance illegal transactions, and pot is still a drug that is considered illegal at the Federal level. So its cash only for now, at least until the Feds shut down more California pot shops.
From the SFGate here:
If you’re about ready to refill your supply of medical marijuana, you might want to stop by an ATM first. In the past few days, a number of Bay Area dispensaries have told their clients that from now on it’s cash only, because Visa and MasterCard aren’t allowing their cards to be used for marijuana purchases anymore.
Harborside Health Center in Oakland sent its patients a similar message, blaming a “continuing federal threat of seizure against financial institutions.”
In fact, Harborside, the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country, is facing a federal seizure threat of its own. On Wednesday, it was served notice from the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco that its facilities in Oakland and San Jose are subject to forfeiture because they are being used to “distribute and cultivate marijuana.”
Although marijuana for medical use is legal in 17 states plus the District of Columbia, it remains verboten as far as federal law, and the feds continue to take a dim view of commerce surrounding the practice.
For its part, San Francisco’s Visa said Wednesday, “Visa has not changed its policy. Our policy is that Visa cards should only be used in connection with legal transactions. We do not allow the Visa payment system to be used for any illegal activity and have banned illegal transactions on Visa cards. Merchant banks, also known as acquirers, are responsible for ensuring that their merchant customers comply with all applicable laws.”
Every time a hippie cries I get a case of the giggles. I love it that Visa is not allowing purchases for pot and I love it more that Obama’s Federal Agents are shuttering pot shops.
