Federal cannabis legalization continues to slide

Many in the cannabis industry saw the SAFE Banking Act as a salvation to the cannabis industry’s financial woes. The law was intended to change the scope of the industry’s financial constraints and burdens. However, due to changes and movements in the Senate, it was removed from the COMPETES Act thanks to Republican senators. Read on as we take a look back at the history of the law and the impact this removal has had on the cannabis industry.

Before we delve into the events surrounding the repeal of this law and the impact it will have, we will go back to review its history. The SAFE Banking Act is a special bill designed to help stabilize the finances of the federal cannabis industry. Known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Act, the law is seen by many as a solution to the problems plaguing cannabis company owners’ financial systems. The current financial system places services such as loans and payroll, as well as checking and deposit accounts, under the strict regulations of the cannabis industry. This means that limited financial institutions are poised to provide cannabis business owners with the financial services they so desperately need.

The special law was signed into the COMPETES bill of the House of Representatives, which was led by Democrats. The COMPETES Act was created to allow the US to effectively improve its ability to compete with China on all fronts. The America COMPETES Act stands for Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022. The act includes various bills to strengthen manufacturing in the US and also place it in the right place to compete with China to put.

The SAFE Banking Act was signed when this bill passed the House of Representatives five times in the past three years, but has not yet been validated. Until recently, it was passed as a separate piece of legislation after it was first introduced in 2013, but never received the necessary approval. This failure was disappointing as hopes were very high every time the bill found its way to the house. The temperature in the cannabis industry and from some lawmakers shows that this may not be the last of the SAFE Banking Act.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), has responded as unhappy at the inability to pass this bill. He believes the isolation of the cannabis industry from the financial system is having a disproportionate impact on lives and businesses. The bill failed to go beyond the Senate’s bipartisan US Innovation and Competition Act following passage of the COMPETES Act last year. This has kept the cannabis business owners in the industry, who need help from the financial system, from getting help.

Republican lawmakers who opposed the bill were also without reason, as they mandated the action. Their argument remains that the bill does not fit well with the laws of the COMPETES Act, which is a Chinese competition bill. Democrats, on the other hand, are trying to pair the bill as a form of social justice measure that will be difficult to pass in committee. This has stalled the bipartisan agreement required to pass the law and put it into effect, halting progress.

Reactions have flown in from the cannabis industry following the recent actions surrounding the SAFE Banking Act in the House of Representatives. US Cannabis Council President Steven Hawkins still believes there is enough political will and support to help pass the law. He believes this can be achieved by combining the bill with other cannabis and criminal justice reforms. Hawkins has said the council intends to work with allies and members to ensure this is done soon. He does not accept the current setback as a dead end and believes that with the necessary willpower and support, the law will be completed.

The US Conference of Mayors is the last to discuss the need to bring the SAFE Banking Act to life. At its most recent meeting, the panel approved a resolution calling on Congress to pass federal bank reforms for the cannabis industry. The panel looks at the loopholes in state and federal cannabis laws as a problem for legal cannabis entrepreneurs. Without proper structure and legislation, the body believes that owners of legal cannabis businesses will stand to lose if legislators don’t act.

Political director of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Morgan Fox, has reacted to news of the removal. Fox believes it is unfathomable that the House has refused to pass this bill for the sixth time. He finds it disappointing that lawmakers are prioritizing politics when many businesses and people are suffering. He also described the SAFE Banking Act as being in a legislative twilight zone, making it difficult to see the light of day.

Michael Sassano, CEO of SomaĆ­ Pharmaceuticals, a company that makes cannabis products, believes the SAFE Banking Act is a way for lawmakers to make the industry safer. He thinks Congress is missing out on that opportunity because they’re proving they can play it easy. A move that does not take into account the owners of the cannabis companies and their employees.

The current reality is that advocates of reform will have to try again to get the law through. The US is gearing up for the midterm elections, and the window for some cannabis reforms to pass is about to close. Fox has said the House of Representatives is wasting a unique opportunity to help hundreds of thousands of Americans through meaningful bipartisanship. Activists and advocates for reform have reaffirmed their commitment to bringing this law to life, and we could see it coming to life in no time.

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