Has anyone had bad experiences with PayPal not transmitting and keeping proceeds from sales of seed and CBD oil and other hemp products? In the past PayPal has asserted that selling these non marijuana products are a violation of the US money laundering and drug laws under their Acceptable Use Policy.
5 Likes
You’re NOT buying hemp or cannabis related products. You’re sending a gift. What you may or may not get in the mail is nobody’s business but yours.
18 Likes
Yeah, you can donate money to whomever you want and it’s nobody’s business but your own.
4 Likes
I never have but I never told them what I was buying. CBD products and seed within the US is legal. Also, with in Canada.
2 Likes
I oddly can’t gift money as of late. But no problem with subscriptions etc being paid on same card/accounts.
1 Like
Been using PayPal for many years with no issues. Never heard of the problem you speak of.
6 Likes
Good to hear Doug but I know of at least 2 that have lost thousands to this action by PayPal. If it happens to you, you have legal recourse if where you do business you can legally buy and sell hemp derived products. Anything with THC is problematical.
1 Like
This is why you put “for rent” or “birthday gift”. Why would you ever put anything related to marijuana regardless if it’s hemp or not?
Only issue I ever had with pay pal was getting too much money after just getting back on it and they put funds on hold for a period of time
3 Likes
Agreed. But I’m talking about online or brick and mortar merchants like seed banks and head shops trying to do business above ground and pay taxes… In most places after 2018, hemp derived products like CBD and seeds are legal to be sold without special licensing. Before 2018 all parts of the plants of the genus Canabis L was marijuana, a schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Now only the presence of THC makes the plant parts controlled substances. PayPal is wrong to pull this legal stunt.
2 Likes
That is just not the case here in Canada. I can use my credit card at any legal LP with no issues so I suppose it depends on what country you live in.
4 Likes
This why you always read the fine print.
Yet another reason why I don’t use PayPal.
But mostly because I’m technology-challenged. 
4 Likes
i have been using paypal for almost 20 years and have never had any trouble with it i use it for most of my transactions for they have a very secure system
2 Likes
Has PayPal even been around twenty years?!?
Jeez, don’t say stuff like that! Makes me feel old, like most the other geezers on here. 
7 Likes
founded in 1998
1 Like
Yup, OLD…
2 Likes
Mr Musk made an early fortune when he co-founded the online payments company PayPal in 1998. After eBay bought it for $1.5bn in 2002, Mr Musk netted $180m from the deal, according to Time magazine.
4 Likes
In my very short time on the topic of legalized cannabis (since 2018), my hardest nut to crack is to convince people that the judicial system is there to enforce rights for them. Before legalization participants in the cannabis world only saw the courts as the tool of law enforcement to deny their freedom. Contract enforcement was left to self help leading to a significant loss of life and property.
Today the worm is turning for cannabis.
We should all get used to the fact that monoliths like PayPal cannot just dictate terms by misrepresenting the meaning of the words in their own policies. If they say that seed banks are violating any law by selling seeds they will need to explain how cannabis seeds violate any laws under oath. Further, if you have a right to grow in your locality you have the corresponding right to buy and sell seeds to exercise that right. If they make the argument that seeds are controlled substances they will be disagreeing with the 2018 Farm Bill and this DEA opinion.
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21580238/21-7692-shane-pennington-cannabis-seeds-tissue-genetic-material-11-18-21-signed-1.pdf
This letter also applies to all cannabinoid extracts other than substances that contain more than .3% THC. These substances are less dangerous than selling Snickers bars considering the number of people that have peanut allergies. Not so funny that Snickers bars have killed more people than CBD oil or cannabis seed.
If you think you have been cheated by PayPal in this way you need to confront it with the law. In most places the statute of limitations for these claims is 4 to 6 years. If there is a business tort of conversion in your jurisdiction which allows for multiple damages and attorney fees, voila, these laws make acting stupid costly for the thief. That Statute of Limitations for conversion is between 1 to 3 years depending on where you do business. In Michigan its 6 years for contract and 3 years for conversion with treble damages and attorney fees. Conversion is a polite way to say stealing.
1 Like
PayPal SUCKS!!! They shut us down and then held our money for several months!!! Which from what I found out is pretty legal to do. I think a lawyer told us they can hold the money for up to 6 months without any issues. We used Square and they shut us down pretty quick. I am looking into one other way but right now flying under radar using a friends business account which being a smaller seed guy mainly on east coast no problems so far. Looking into a better option and asking around for something better
Much like the big banks, Paypal is playing it safe and maintaining plausible deniability. They’re probably being advised by some wonderful lawyers; they get to profit from everyone using their platform for cannabis banking while at the same time they can tell the Feds they’d never touch the stuff because as a Schedule 1 narcotic it’s illegal and very, very bad, mmkaaaaay?
As a lawyer yourself, I’m surprised you need an explanation of this. Personally, as a private citizen who’s growing only to supply myself, I couldn’t care less about this issue, so I wish you well taking it to the Supreme Court and actually changing something before Congress gets its act together… though if anyone’s taking bets, I don’t give it good odds. 
1 Like
A word of caution. My posts are focused on the legal status of Cannabis. Focusing on the illegal aspects of Cannabis and methods to avoid detection are not my intention. Under current law you either have the right to cultivate and possess or it’s a serious crime. My intent is to bring the rule of law to the conversation. If you have had a problem with the business side of legal cannabis, my contact information can be found on the Michigan Bar site and you can contact me at any time to discuss. We need to stop chasing a scream.
1 Like