© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

2nd Bank Says No To Florida Candidate Who Supports Pot

IgnitingFlorida.com

Florida's Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner says a second bank has terminated her campaign account because she supports medical marijuana.

Nikki Fried's campaign manager, Alicia Stallworth, told the  Miami Herald that BB&T called the campaign Aug. 29 to tell them that their bank account had to be closed within 30 days. Stallworth says the bank sent them an email last Friday saying the account had to be closed by Wednesday.

Fried's campaign had previously used Wells Fargo until that financial institution closed her accounts last month, just weeks before the Aug. 28 primary, which Fried won.

Fried is a Fort Lauderdale-based lawyer and medical marijuana lobbyist.

Florida voters legalized medical marijuana in 2016, but some banks are reluctant to do business with an industry that remains illegal under federal law. BB&T released a statement saying they're complying with federal law.

___

Information from: The Miami Herald, 

Copyright 2018 Health News Florida

You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.