Why Chuck Schumer might be acting in cannabis banking sooner rather than later

Through Jelena Martinovic

The Senate recently came under pressure from all quarters to pass the SAFE Banking Act, which would “help cannabis-related businesses, encourage innovation, create jobs and strengthen public safety in our communities.”

Most recently, about a quarter of the voting members of the House of Representatives asked congressional leaders to pass the marijuana banking regulations into law as part of the America COMPETES Act.

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RELATED: Chuck Schumer’s Cannabis Legalization Bill: Back to the Drawing Board by August

On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) reiterated the postponement of the submission of a comprehensive marijuana bill to end prohibition, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), from April until sometime before the August break. So far, his stance has been that marijuana legalization with social justice components should be approved before the marijuana banking law.

However, it seems that the mood could be changing. Schumer met with GOP House Representative Dave Joyce (R-OH) earlier this week to discuss possible bipartisan cannabis reform steps that can be taken ahead of the finalization of a sweeping legalization bill, Marijuana Moment reported.

A preliminary talk took place Thursday at an International Cannabis Bar Association conference, first tweeted by Politico’s Natalie Fertig.

Among other cannabis reform proposals, Schumer and Joyce discussed combining two existing bipartisan bills — Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s (D-CO) Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act. The HOPE Act, sponsored by Joyce and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), would help states erase criminal records for people convicted of nonviolent cannabis offenses by establishing a State Expungement Opportunity Grant Program.

RELATED: Senate Pressured From All Sides to Pass Cannabis SAFE Banking Act – Will It Happen?

“The conversation between Leader Schumer and Congressman Joyce was part of an ongoing, broader discussion between both parties and chambers to determine what reform can happen this Congress,” a senior Joyce staffer told Marijuana Moment. “It is a testament to the sincere efforts of both the Chairman and Congressman to find common ground for substantive, bipartisan progress on this issue.” Congressman remains confident that an agreement can be reached and progress can be made.”

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Is there a compromise on the horizon?

While Joyce’s office emphasized that an agreement is not yet on the table, Cantor Fitzgerald’s Pablo Zuanic said the meeting shows that Schumer “could be open to a reasonable and realistic compromise in passing SAFE … if other policies on social.” justice can be added”.

The analyst also noted that in the scenario where Schumer doesn’t introduce his own sweeping legalization bill before the break, Schumer “might be amenable to some form of compromise.”

Zuanic said the move was intended to stimulate multi-state operators (MSO) in the US. “Given where US cannabis stocks are trading (two-year low), from a pure trading perspective, this should spur the group on,” he said. “We remain buyers of key US MSOs with the caveat that even if nothing happens this year, they should still be attractive long-term investments.”

So far, the SAFE Banking Act has made it through the US House of Representatives six times in the past three years.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.