It’s about time.
There’s this bill. It’s been floating around Washington a minute. If passed, the bill protects banks that partner with state-legal weed businesses. You see, despite legal cannabis generating one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, weed’s still illegal on the federal level. So any bank openly working in the business faces penalization by federal regulators.
The bill is the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (“SAFE”). It’s sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado). The measure cleared the House across bipartisan lines, but the Republican-controlled Senate gave it a no-bill. But now the Dems are running shit. They have the House and the Senate. Biden’s in the big chair.
The bill had over a hundred co-sponsors when first introduced. When finally brought before Congress, the bill had over 200 co-sponsors. Currently, the bill garnered new support from an additional 13 Republicans. They’ll file a new version of the bill any day now.
SAFE ensures banks can work with cannabis producers without fear of sanctions. Right now, because of this hesitation, we force entrepreneurs to find alternate ways of doing bidness, like cash-only transactions. As cash-only, the stores are wide open to criminality.
Sponsor Perlmutter said in a press release, “Thousands of employees and businesses across this country have been forced to deal in piles of cash for far too long. … It is time to enact SAFE Banking to align federal and state laws and reduce the public safety risk in our communities.”
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Another sponsor, Rep. Steve Stivers, a GOP-er out of Ohio, added, [W]“e have a responsibility to legislate for the reality we live in, and the reality is that legal businesses in thirty-three states, including Ohio, are being denied access to the banking system and forced to assume huge risks as a result of operating solely in cash.
“However, without the ability to safely utilize the banking system, cannabis-related businesses we left behind and stuck resorting to tactics that can threaten public safety and economic success.”
Currently, the law requires any bank associated with the cannabis business to report suspicious activity. Technically, snitch or face federal persecution. Steven Mnuchin, former Treasury Secretary, wants legislation that fixes this issue.
The vice-chair with the National Cannabis Roundtable, Chanda Macias, calls the bill a big win for customers, businesses, and their communities. She expects an expansion of jobs and more public safety.
Right now, any legal cannabis business is open to criminal activity. They’re forced to operate in cash because banks won’t support them with credit or debit cards.
If we get this bill on the books, all legal growth businesses will be able to get financial services that keep communities safe. Giving the industry access to this will minimize cash-motivated crimes, improve the industry’s financial transparency, and enhance the efficiency of tax collection.
Helping the industry grow? Protecting workers? Legitimizing a connection between banks and weed?
We need this bill.
