A group that represents state lawmakers across the U.S. is urging Senate leaders to pass a bipartisan marijuana banking bill to provide a “much-needed solution” to the “unsafe and untenable” challenges that the cannabis industry faces under prohibition.
In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) CEO Tim Storey expressed the organization’s support for the revised Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that was formally introduced last week and is scheduled for a Senate Banking Committee markup on Wednesday.
NCSL, which represents the legislatures of states and territories across the country, has long advocated for cannabis banking reform, and it also voted to adopt a policy position in favor of federal marijuana descheduling last year.
“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,” Storey said in the new letter. “The SAFER Banking Act would provide much-needed banking resources to legitimate state businesses.”
The vast majority of states and territories have “exercised their sovereign prerogatives to legalize cannabis and the federal government must respect
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