WASHINGTON – The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) applauded the reintroduction of the SAFE Banking Act June 25 in the 119th Congress. This bipartisan legislation would provide a safe harbor for financial institutions serving the state-licensed cannabis industry. As longtime champions of SAFE Banking, the bill’s reintroduction comes on the heels of NCIA’s 14th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days, which brought dozens of advocates from across the country to the U.S. Capitol to emphasize the importance of congressional action on cannabis banking even with rescheduling.
In April, the Acting U.S. Attorney General moved state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, a historic recognition of the medical use of cannabis that is legal in 40 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia. State-licensed, adult-use marijuana that is legal in 24 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia remains on Schedule I with an administrative hearing scheduled on a proposed rule to move all marijuana to Schedule III set to commence on June 29. Neither the April Final Order nor potential full marijuana reclassification will address cannabis banking issues directly nor provide financial institutions the protections needed to serve this now bifurcated state-legal industry.
“Due to continued conflicts between state and federal cannabis laws, access to financial services remains severely limited for a highly regulated industry that is operating in the vast majority of the United States,” said NCIA Policy Chair Michael Cooper. “The current lack of access to the same financial resources that all other legal industries utilize most adversely affects small and minority-owned businesses and only serves to fuel an unregulated illicit market. This bipartisan, common-sense bill would protect those financial institutions who choose to service our regulated industry, lowering risks for banks and expanding access to operators to enhance public safety.”
SAFE Banking has passed the House seven times in prior Congresses with broad bipartisan support. In the 118th Congress, the Senate Banking Committee held its first-ever hearing on SAFE Banking, passing it out of committee by a bipartisan vote of 14-9. The bill does not change the federal status of cannabis but establishes a safe harbor for any depository institution that chooses to provide banking services to cannabis-related, legitimate businesses to improve public safety and transparency.
