Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says he and colleagues working to advance a federal marijuana legalization bill have an “agreement” that the body will not take up cannabis banking legislation until more comprehensive reform advances. That said, he’s open to exploring an alternative way of advancing banking reform if lawmakers are able to incorporate social equity provisions of legalization—such as expungements for prior cannabis convictions—into separate defense policy legislation that the chamber will be taking up soon. Whether either proposal would be embraced by President Joe Biden if they were sent to his desk is yet to be seen, but Schumer said he’s going lobbying him “heavily” on legalization. The majority leader made the new comments in an interview on Drug Policy Alliance founder Ethan Nadelmann’s podcast Psychoactive that was released on Thursday. Schumer said there is consensus between him, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) on blocking legislation that would simply protect financial institutions that work with state-legal cannabis businesses until a social equity-focused legalization bill moves forward.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 09/30/2021 08:10:00