Cannabis Banking Bill Receives Essential Bipartisan Support From State Lawmakers

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to take action on the cannabis banking reform. 

Tim Storey, chief executive officer of the NCSL sent a letter to the Congressional leadership on behalf of states supporting the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act (SAFER Banking Act).

“The inability of legal cannabis businesses to receive financial services from the federal banking system creates an unsafe and untenable position for these legal entities. The SAFER Banking Act would provide much-needed banking resources to legitimate state businesses,” Storey wrote.

Storey noted that 47 states, DC, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands have all passed some sort of cannabis legalization. “This fact alone illustrates that these states, territories, and the District of Columbia have exercised their sovereign prerogatives to legalize cannabis and the federal government must respect these valid state policy choices.”

He called the SAFER Banking Act a much-needed solution “to reconciling the conflict between a burgeoning and legitimate state cannabis industry and its ability to comply with federal cannabis laws.”

Referring to the dangers of obliging cannabis companies to operate on a cash-only basis, he called the situation a “real risk that these cannabis businesses become prime targets for theft, burglary, armed robbery and other property crimes that jeopardize the safety of the business owners and the communities in which they operate.”

As of December 2022, robberies at cannabis shops were at an all-time high, especially in Washington state and California.

Banks and financial institutions cannot legally accommodate the billions of dollars weed generates annually, because marijuana is still a federally illegal substance. This leaves the cannabis industry with no access to financial institutions for loans, capital, regular bank accounts or credit cards - an issue that is expected to be remedied by passage of the SAFER Banking Act. 

“The bipartisan SAFER Banking Act will create a safe environment for cannabis businesses and would allow financial institutions to provide banking services to legitimate state-authorized cannabis-related businesses. NCSL stands ready to provide further information regarding the impact of the SAFER Banking Act on states and we look forward to working with your offices to pass this important and impactful legislation.”

Read the full letter HERE.