Commerce Online Inc., a West Palm Beach, Fla., payment processor, has created a prepaid debit and identification card for licensed sellers of medical marijuana in California and Colorado.
These sellers, many of which are nonprofit collectives, can issue the GreenCard to registered members, whose photo and medical identification number would be displayed. Members load money onto the card, then use it to purchase marijuana.
"Most of these operations only accept cash, as well as pay cash to suppliers to the collectives, subjecting operators and collective members to theft, unregulated and potential criminal activity," Kyle Gotshalk, Commerce Online's chief executive, said in a press release Wednesday.
The Department of Justice said this week that it would no longer seek to prosecute medical-marijuana users or their licensed suppliers in the 14 states that have legalized its use: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
