Marijuana Moment
A major banking organization is calling on Congress to pass legislation to ease marijuana businesses’ access to financial services.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would “provide important legal and regulatory clarity” and “address a significant challenge facing American businesses, our communities, and the banks that serve them,” the American Bankers Association (ABA) wrote in a letter to House of Representatives and Senate leaders.
Bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers of Congress refiled the cannabis banking legislation last month—the latest development in a long-term push for the reform, which has been approved by the House several times and advanced through a Senate committee, but has yet to be enacted into law.
“Although nearly every U.S. state has legalized marijuana in some form, the uncertain legal landscape governing the proceeds of these state-licensed businesses means these businesses frequently operate on a cash basis, outside the regulated banking system,” ABA’s new letter says. “These state-legal proceeds also flow to non-cannabis businesses and service providers, including accountants, skilled trades, landlords, and law firms.
“The SAFE Banking Act would remove barriers to banking these funds, materially reducing the amount of cash moving through state-licensed cannabis businesses and service providers,” the group wrote. “That, in turn, would reduce the risk that these businesses are targeted by bad actors, thereby improving public safety in the communities where they operate.”
Developments surrounding the legal definition of hemp and the federal rescheduling of medical marijuana “underscore the need for Congress to act” on the issue, ABA said.
