Link to NYT story about the fed's refusal to open an account for the Colorado credit union hoping to base its existence on a field of membership relating to the marijuana industry. The video nested alongside is a bit haphazard in relaying the banking story in general, but has some interesting content.

Also, note the links to related articles on the right. Marijuana related businesses have apparently been surprised by the fact that they are unable to deduct "ordinary and necessary" business expenses on their tax returns; i.e. all of their income is taxable just because their existence is illegal under federal law.

I watched a documentary series on a medical Marijuana business in California a few years ago and that was basically how the feds put them out of business was by not allowing them to deduct ANYTHING including cost of goods sold. Basically they were forced to pay income tax on their gross sales. I think the show was called "Weed Wars" on Discovery. It was actually very interesting seeing how they operated and the stories of the patients.