By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
Wells Fargo’s recent termination of Nikki Fried’s [D] campaign account because of her connections to medicinal cannabis garnered a lot of criticism in the media this week, prompting a response from the bank.
A former cannabis lobbyist, Fried is running for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, but her account with the bank was ended when they became aware of her ties to the medical marijuana industry.
“This is not an unfamiliar story,” said Fried in a press conference on Monday. “Outdated federal laws allow for this sort of discrimination, and big banks like Wells Fargo do everything they can to block progress.”
But the bank says that the assertion that Fried’s account was closed because of alleged bias is false and that they have no political position on the matter.
“As a national bank that is federally regulated, Wells Fargo must comply with federal law on the topic of marijuana, even in instances where state laws may differ,” said Wells Fargo in a statement released Wednesday, August 22 in response to the recent media coverage. “Since federal law prohibits the sale and use of marijuana, national banks like Wells Fargo may not knowingly bank or provide services to marijuana businesses or related activities.”
“While we recognize that resolving the differences between federal and state laws on this matter has become an industry problem,” they added. “We make these decisions based on the requirements of federal law and not because of any political view on the topic.
In her news conference Monday, Fried said that Wells Fargo’s actions are unprecedented and ‘crystallize the reason’ why she chose to run for office. She has since found another bank to house her campaign account.
