As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) renews his commitment to tackling marijuana banking reform this year, the head of the U.S. Treasury Department says that regulators are also exploring options to address the issue.
During a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) pressed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about the fact that the cannabis industry lacks access to traditional financial services under prohibition.
The senator argued that marijuana as a commodity is more “stable” than cryptocurrency, yet banking regulations have allowed for large investments in the latter that ultimately contributed to the collapse of at least one bank this month.
Yellen replied by saying that, “as you pointed out, in the case of marijuana, it is against federal law, and that’s a barrier, unfortunately, to appropriate banking services for the industry.”
“It’s something the regulators have been looking for solutions to,” she said.
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are similarly seeking to resolve the cannabis banking issue, and the House has repeatedly passed legislation to protect financial institutions that work with marijuana businesses.
The reform was part of a package of cannabis measures that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempted to get the reform enacted
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
