Regulated cannabis market vs. banking policy. A market forced to operate outside the financial system?

Abstract

since 2013, Uruguay has a legal framework for the regulation of Cannabis commercialization for recreation-
al, medical and industrial use. In 2017, state and private banks closed the accounts of the operators who controlled the
legalized market of Cannabis recreational use. This article addresses this complicated political situation that has affected
the Uruguayan model of drug policy regulation. In so doing, it refers to the similar situation that has emerged between
the US banks and the states that have regulated the use of Cannabis in the North American country. In the concluding
section, the article provides reflections on the existing possibilities to protect the regulated market of Cannabis as an
autonomous system that works independently from the decisions taken by the banking industry.