U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-NV, announced last week that she led a bipartisan group of more than 20 of her colleagues to urge congressional leadership to act on banking reform for the cannabis industry. A group of 24 senators wrote a letter to Senate and House leaders May 12, encouraging them to include the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the final version of the America COMPETES Act. Federal law currently prohibits financial institutions from providing services to state-legal cannabis businesses, as well as ancillary businesses that serve the industry, forcing these operations to conduct cash-only transactions. “Because of this federally-imposed barrier, cannabis small businesses are repeatedly targeted by criminal actors and fall victim to cash-related safety risks, including growing incidents of theft, robbery, and violence,” according to the announcement from Rosen’s office. “The SAFE Banking Act would finally allow licensed cannabis businesses operating in states like Nevada to have equal access to banking services.” The SAFE Banking Act has passed the House six times, most recently in February as a bipartisan amendment to the America COMPETES Act.
Posted Melissa Schiller, Cannabis Business Times, 05/16/2022 11:14:00