The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Aug. 5, edition that the U.S. weed industry got a reminder last week that being legit can still be a drag, as Mastercard asked financial institutions to stop accepting transactions for the purchase of the herb using its debit cards. The Globe's guest columnist Gus Carlson writes that because U.S. federal law prohibits the sale, possession and use of marijuana in all its forms, Mastercard said purchases were not allowed on its systems. That applies even when customers use bank cards and personal identification numbers to access their own cash to buy cannabis in the 23 states and the District of Columbia, where the drug is legal for adult recreational or medical use. In simple terms, Mastercard's move signals the company's intent to obey the existing law of the entire land, not just parts of it, and reduce its exposure and liability to the country's bifurcated treatment of the pot business in the process. Industry players say the Mastercard restrictions are another hurdle on the road to legitimacy that will hurt growth, already burdened by taxes, fees and regulatory restrictions at state, county and local levels, as well a political push back in half the country.