A coalition of marijuana advocacy groups has launched a campaign meant to promote education about the need for cannabis banking reform, highlighting what they see as the social and economic equity advantages of freeing up businesses in the industry to access traditional financial services.<\/p>\n
Marijuana Matters, Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) and Women Grow have teamed up to create the \u201cSAFE4Equity\u201d campaign, which is meant to push for the expedient passage of the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in Congress.<\/p>\n
They want to see that legislation, sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), enacted as part of a large-scale manufacturing bill that\u2019s currently being negotiated as part of a bicameral conference committee.<\/p>\n
While some advocates have criticized moving ahead with banking reform before comprehensive legalization is enacted, making the case that the incremental reform would principally serve deep-pocketed, mostly white-owned corporations and banks themselves, the coalition is contesting that narrative with the new campaign.<\/p>\n
\nFormed by @M2_ORG<\/a>, @m4mmunited<\/a>, @womengrow<\/a>, & @MinCannBusAssoc<\/a>, SAFE Banking for Equity is committed to fighting for small #cannabis<\/a> businesses, especially those minority and women-owned, and their right to access equal #banking<\/a>. Learn more: https:\/\/t.co\/02cbaLElje<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MjFv9oQjPK<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 SAFE 4 Equity (@safe4equity) June 2, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Specifically, the groups are contending that small and women- and minority-owned businesses would uniquely benefit from the modest banking bill, in part because it would provide them with the resources to more effectively compete and operate safely in what is currently a volatile and cash-intensive industry.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an argument that Perlmutter has also made throughout his advocacy for his legislation, and he expressed gratitude to advocates in a press release about the campaign launch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate SAFE4Equity\u2019s support of the SAFE Banking Act and their ongoing advocacy for federal cannabis reform,\u201d the congressman said. \u201cSAFE Banking is only one piece of the puzzle but it is a critical piece of reform that underserved communities and small businesses need now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is imperative that the conference committee solve this problem as soon as possible to begin to alleviate the threat of public safety and inequity which threatens communities and emerging small businesses across the country,\u201d he said, referencing the conference on the America COMPETES Act.<\/p>\n
Perlmutter\u2019s office separately put out a press release on Thursday that quotes numerous congressional colleagues\u2014including several who are serving on the key conference committee\u2014supporting the passage of the SAFE Banking Act as a long-overdue reform that would address public safety, financial transparency and equity.<\/p>\n
Amber Littlejohn, executive director of MCBA, said that passing the cannabis banking bill \u201cwould help address this core issue affecting countless small and minority owned cannabis operators throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy extending a safe harbor to banks, credit unions, certain payment processors, and other select financial entities to offer essential services such as loans, deposit accounts, check cashing, and electronic payments to state lawful cannabis companies, we are creating a sustainable future for small cannabis businesses and stopping the unjust criminalization of cannabis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Part of the SAFE4Equity<\/a> strategy will to provide up-to-date information about the legislative status of the SAFE Banking Act and also feature stories of people who are actively navigating the complicated cannabis space under federal prohibition, without access to traditional financial services that are available to other industries. (That said, the coalition\u2019s website still prominently features an action alert asking Congress to pass SAFE Banking through the National Defense Authorization Act\u2014an effort that failed late last year\u2014rather than focusing on the current America COMPETES legislative vehicle.)<\/p>\n\n
\u201cAdvocates have been fighting for years for sensible cannabis reform,\u201d Roz McCarthy, CEO of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, said. \u201cThe opportunity to pass legislation around safe and equal banking for all in the regulated cannabis industry would be a huge step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courtney Davis, executive director of Marijuana Matters, acknowledged that enacting the cannabis banking bill \u201cwill not repair all of the harms from the war on drugs.\u201d However, \u201cit is one of the many tools that are essential to supporting individuals from historically disadvantaged communities in becoming successful entrepreneurs in the burgeoning cannabis space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gia Mor\u00f3n, president of Women Grow, echoed that point, stating that \u201cSAFE Banking will provide the necessary access and secure banking services our business owners need to operate sound businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s not consensus on the issue, with some advocates pushing back against the notion that the modest banking bill will effectively serve disadvantaged communities and small entrepreneurs, at least without significant revisions to provide more targeted relief.<\/p>\n
Shaleen Title, founder of the Parabola Center, told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that \u201csmall cannabis businesses are struggling right now, and there is an opportunity to support them through incremental federal legislation.\u201d But the SAFE Banking Act \u201cdoes not provide that opportunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite assurances that the bill will help small businesses, as written it only helps banks,\u201d she argued. \u201cWe\u2019ll keep collaborating on legislation that is robust and equitable for small businesses and the communities that have been targeted by the drug war.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Disclosure: Title supports Marijuana Moment\u2019s work through a monthly pledge on Patreon.<\/a>)<\/p>\n
The conference committee\u00a0held its first meeting on the America COMPETES Act<\/a> last month, with multiple appointed conferees urging the body to attach the SAFE Banking Act language in the interest of economic competitiveness and public safety.<\/p>\n
But while the SAFE Banking Act has passed the House in some form six times as this point, a key barrier is Senate leadership, which is working to finalize a bill to comprehensively end federal prohibition. A top aide for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently tempered expectations about the prospects of moving marijuana banking<\/a>\u00a0through the America COMPETES Act.<\/p>\n
For his part, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), an appointed conferee on the manufacturing bill, separately said that he feels there \u201ctremendous momentum\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to get the marijuana banking job done through their negotiations.<\/p>\n
Asked by Marijuana Moment whether there are any specific, equity-centered policies that he\u2019s discussed adding to the SAFE Banking Act with Senate leadership, Blumenauer said that he\u2019d \u201cprefer not to go into\u201d discussions he may have had with Senate colleagues, and he put the onus on the opposite chamber to propose any specific changes that would make the legislation more palatable to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have the opportunity to move something forward, and I welcome those efforts,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m perfectly willing to work with them as far as they can go as long as it doesn\u2019t get in the way of solving this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The standalone Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act currently has 42 cosponsors, including nine Republicans.<\/p>\n
That reluctance on the Senate side was also the\u00a0subject of a letter<\/a> that Perlmutter sent to leadership last month.<\/p>\n
In a previous statement to Marijuana Moment, Perlmutter pointed out that \u201cmore than two-thirds of the conferees have already voted for or cosponsored the SAFE Banking Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
The congressman has even made a point to talk about enacting the reform legislation\u00a0during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation<\/a>, like at a recent House Rules Committee hearing.<\/p>\n
Despite recently\u00a0saying that he\u2019s \u201cconfident\u201d that the Senate will take up his bill<\/a>\u00a0this session, Perlmutter recognized that while he\u2019s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that \u201cas we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it\u201d as is.<\/p>\n
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and\u00a0previously listed marijuana banking as a legislative priority<\/a>\u00a0ahead of the conference, said that the bipartisan nature of the reform proposal is \u201cevident\u201d based on the fact that the House included it in the chamber\u2019s version of the manufacturing bill before it was removed in the Senate.<\/p>\n
Additionally, nearly a quarter of all senators\u00a0sent a bipartisan letter this month urging that cannabis banking be included in the final bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The third-highest-ranking Democratic member in the Senate, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA),\u00a0has taken special interest in marijuana banking reform<\/a>, describing it as a priority of hers as an appointed member on the bicameral conference committee.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an organization that represents state financial regulators from across the U.S., the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), is separately putting pressure on Congress<\/a> to pass marijuana banking reform.<\/p>\n
Banking associations representing all 50 states and one U.S. territory also\u00a0sent a letter to Senate leaders in April<\/a>\u00a0that made similar points about the importance of enacting the SAFE Banking Act.<\/p>\n
Last month, a coalition of cannabis regulators representing 40 U.S. states and territories separately explained to Congress<\/a>\u00a0what the current lack of access to traditional financial services means\u2014not just for the businesses and the programs they oversee, but for the regulators navigating this federal-state conflict themselves.<\/p>\n
The non-partisan Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), which doesn\u2019t take a stand on legalization itself, sent a letter to congressional leaders, outlining areas of concern for their states\u2019 respective marijuana markets under the status quo of federal prohibition.<\/p>\n
But again, not everyone is accepting the idea that SAFE Banking alone will provide the relief and resources to disadvantaged communities that proponents are arguing it will.<\/p>\n
Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition has also weighed in on the cannabis banking conundrum<\/a>, arguing in a Marijuana Moment op-ed that the SAFE Banking Act is insufficient. The group says advocates should push to add provisions to the bill providing interim safeguards for Community Financial Depository Institutions (CFDIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), as well as measures to prevent predatory lending and promote loan availability for people from disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the governor, attorney general and other top officials in Washington State\u00a0sent a letter to congressional leaders<\/a> last month, again emphasizing the urgent need to pass marijuana banking reform as a public safety imperative.<\/p>\n
The number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses ticked up again near the end of 2021<\/a>, according to recently released federal data.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.<\/p>\n
Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY)\u00a0criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue<\/a>\u00a0in December.<\/p>\n
\nNew York Senate Approves Bill To Mandate Medical Marijuana Health Insurance Coverage<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n
The post Marijuana Coalition Launches New Campaign Backing Cannabis Banking Reform To Promote Equity<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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