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Those who have been following the federal marijuana reform efforts on Capitol Hill over the past year can tell you that Congress has been more active than ever on this subject. But with all this progress, the question remains: Will any of this effort result in actual changes to federal laws?
The stakes are high as it is uncertainty around federal law that has kept billions of dollars of institutional capital out of the cannabis industry and caused U.S. exchanges to not list U.S. companies (though they’re happy to list Canadian cannabis companies, to the U.S. industry’s detriment). It’s hard to overstate the impact that some of these bills, if enacted into law, could have on the cannabis industry.
It is now a little past the halfway mark of the 116th Session of Congress, so it’s worth looking at some of those more notable efforts and their chances of success before this session ends next January.
Is the SAFE Banking Act on the ropes?
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act made history in 2019 when it became the first standalone marijuana bill to be passed by a House floor vote. The bill, which would enable banks to offer loans and other banking services to marijuana businesses, including contractors and vendors who never touch the plant, passed the House with strong bipartisan support—nearly half of House Republicans joined the near-unanimous support from their Democratic counterparts. However, since this landmark House vote, the bill has largely languished in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Read more from the source: Forbes.com
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