New poll shows overwhelming support for cannabis banking legislation

According to the results of a recent poll, nearly two-thirds of US voters support legislation that would allow the banking industry to provide financial services to legal cannabis companies. The poll, commissioned by the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), also found that a strong majority believe giving cannabis companies access to financial services would reduce the risk of robberies and other crimes in marijuana stores.

The poll, conducted by polling firm Morning Consult on behalf of the ICBA, found that 65% of US voters support allowing cannabis companies to access banking services in states that have legalized marijuana. According to the ICBA, the poll results indicate broad bipartisan support for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a federal law that would allow such access to financial services for cannabis companies. The bill has passed the US House of Representatives seven times but has failed to get approval from the Senate.

“US voters have made it clear that the current law preventing cannabis-related businesses from accessing the banking system is having a negative impact on local communities,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a statement from the industry group. “With an overwhelming majority of US voters supporting allowing cannabis-related businesses into the banking system, the Senate should act now on the bipartisan cannabis banking legislation that the House of Representatives has passed seven times.”

The SAFE Banking Act would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide traditional commercial banking services to the legal cannabis industry. Under current regulations, the provision of such banking services, including loans and payroll, checking and deposit accounts, is tightly regulated by the federal government, resulting in few financial institutions agreeing to work with marijuana companies. Critics point out that current policies are forcing cannabis companies to operate primarily with cash, leaving businesses vulnerable to robbery and other crime.

The SAFE Banking Act was first introduced to Congress in 2013 by Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado. Since then, the House of Representatives has passed the law seven times, either as a standalone law or as an annex to other laws, most recently as an amendment to a Chinese competition law that was later struck out of the law. However, each time the Cannabis Bank Act or its provisions have been approved by the House of Representatives, the legislation has failed to win Senate approval.

Voters believe the Cannabis Banking Act will reduce crime risk

The ICBA poll also found that 71% of voters believe allowing legal marijuana businesses into the banking system would help reduce the risk of robberies and assaults on cannabis-related businesses, an indication of the importance, according to the industry group of cannabis banking is access to public safety. A majority (55%) said providing financial services to cannabis companies could help promote equity in the cannabis industry as some cannabis companies are owned and operated by people of color, women and the LGBTQ community.

Sahar Ayinehsazian, a partner in the Los Angeles office of cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg and co-chair of the practice’s Banking and Financial Services Access Group, agreed that public support for cannabis banking legislation indicates the issue is an important issue public safety for voters .

“It is encouraging to see that 71% of voters are in favor of allowing cannabis companies access to banks – this is not only a business issue but also a serious public safety issue. We are approaching a decade since the passage of Amendment 64, which ushered in the current model of the national cannabis industry,” Ayinehsazian wrote in an email to High Times. “Throughout this decade, cannabis companies have proven to be beacons of compliance and safe and material cornerstones of their communities and economies.”

“Providing barriers to bank access is therefore detrimental to the community at large,” she added. “Such broad bipartisan public support reflects the positive impact the cannabis industry has had nationally and should motivate the Senate to enact cannabis banking.”