A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in the upper chamber is pushing for the cannabis banking bill to get a markup.
Democrats say excitement for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act has been building after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that marijuana be downgraded from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III.
“What happened on Schedule III was good, another potential breakthrough,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said.
“We’re moving to finally end the days of ‘Reefer Madness,’” Wyden continued. “The federal government just been behind on pot.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called the HHS decision “a recognition of reality.”
“The idea that you’ve got marijuana legal in over half the states, and yet at the federal level, it’s still categorized in the same category as heroin, it seems a bit out of touch with the science,” Warner said.
The SAFE Banking Act would give federally regulated banks and credit unions legal cover to take cannabis dispensaries and growers as customers. Financial institutions have been hesitant to serve state-legal cannabis businesses because of the federal ban on the drug.
While 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical or recreational use, the possession, distribution or sale of cannabis is still illegal at the federal level. As a result, legally operating cannabis businesses are often denied access to banks.
Proponents of the bill say the SAFE Banking Act would help legally operating businesses avoid the headaches and safety risks of dealing only in cash without affecting the legal status of cannabis beyond states where it’s legal.
Good, but they’re not doing this because it’s the right thing. I’m guessing it’s largely about payment processors being not wanting to leave money on the table, and a little bit about wanting to be able to hoover up data about the customers.
Let’s not forget that the leaders of major banks meet with the president and prominent politicians regularly for fun networking and dinners. Big banks know that marijuana is profitable and are absolutely livid that state banks and credit unions are hoovering up all kinds of solid cash flow just because the fed says they (the big banks) can’t get involved.
I’m telling you right now, the HOUR cannabis gets descheduled your JPMs and Wells’ are going to be knocking down doors of local dispensaries to sell accounts.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“The idea that you’ve got marijuana legal in over half the states, and yet at the federal level, it’s still categorized in the same category as heroin, it seems a bit out of touch with the science,” Warner said.
Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, we’re Aris Folley and Taylor Giorno — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vented his frustration about the hard-line conservatives holding up appropriations, dropping an expletive as he dared his fiercest critics to attempt a vote to oust him.
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