This senator says Congress needs to catch up with Americans and is pushing for legislation to reform cannabis banking
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Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), a house sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana-banking reform bill, last week filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023 that would include the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE ) is to be included ) Banking Act.
The move came after bipartisan congressmen concluded that marijuana banking legislation would not be included in the final version of the United States’ Innovation and Competition Act (a/k/a The America COMPETES Act).
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The bill was formally included in February as an amendment to large-scale legislation dealing with innovation and manufacturing.
In a recent press release, Perlmutter said he would “pursue all legislative opportunities to get SAFE Banking across the finish line this year.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Willamette Week that he, Sen. Cory Booker (DN.J.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) remain committed to cannabis reform pushing at the federal level. as they want to see their legalization bill in the works before the Senate recess expected around August 8th.
The Legislature’s bill, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, would end prohibition of cannabis and “ensure restorative justice, public health, and implement responsible taxation and regulation.”
“You have people walking around with wheelbarrows full of cash,” Wyden said in a July 4 interview. “It’s just a magnet for criminal activity.”
Cannabis banking is a priority
With the crime tide in cannabis dispensaries increasing by the day, cannabis banking remains a priority. In a June 14 letter to Wyden, Paul Rosenbaum, chair of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, urged him to nudge Congress in the right direction.
“Enough states are engaged in some form of legalization that this should be an immediate national priority, not just a priority for our state.”
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While Wyden’s measure, which bans the federal government from denying security clearances for prior cannabis use required for employment in Secret Services, was recently given the green light by the Senate Intelligence Committee, it remains to be seen what Congress will do next.
“Millions of Americans voted for legalization,” Wyden said. “Oregonians have already voted to join the 21st century. I’ll try to get the rest of Congress to catch up with us.”
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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