Amodei: Treat legal pot ‘just like alcohol' and let businesses have access to banks

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., says he opposed legalizing recreational use of marijuana but now supports giving those businesses safe access to financial institutions.

“It wasn't my cup of tea,” he told the Carson Chamber of Commerce Monday morning. “I voted against it.”

But he said the voters approved the decriminalization, and now prohibiting banks from accepting pot businesses as customers means those businesses “are dealing with large amounts of cash.”

But, he said, when Carson City, Washoe County or another governmental entity gets their cut of marijuana taxes, “when they go to deposit that cash in the bank, there are no questions asked.”

“Everybody knows it's marijuana money,” he said adding that, as long as it comes from Carson City, Washoe County or the state of Nevada, “no questions asked, no reports filed.”

He said he supports allowing those businesses access to banks and other financial institutions to better track what those businesses are making and reduce the risk of robberies.

“Treat it just like alcohol,” he said. “Heck yeah, allow them to use the banks.”