The DEA still classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug (same schedule as heroin). States that have gone legal for recreational use have created a cash business because the banks won’t touch it as long as it’s illegal in the federal system. So what are the businesses doing with all of that cash? I know in Colorado you now have cash storage businesses that will collect the cash and store it for you for a price (kind of like a bank but you pay them to keep your money). My guess is that not everyone is doing that and some businessses are managing to get the money into the banking system so that they can use it. At the moment the DOJ is just lettering it go, but what happens if you get an Attorney General that wants to strictly enforce federal law? I’m not talking about federal agents raiding the corner marijuana market but the DOJ going after the money by using civil asset forfeiture or money laundering provisions. It seems that Canada did it the right way.