As congressional lawmakers lament the failure to get marijuana banking legislation attached to a large-scale spending bill, one senator is giving details about what bipartisan negotiations over the so-called SAFE Plus package entailed, including \u201cimportant expungement and second amendment rights provisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it has been previously reported that gun rights were included in the package in order to get buy-in from conservatives as lawmakers pushed to produce passable legislation during the lame duck session, the new comments from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) appear to be the first on-the-record confirmation from a lawmaker on the issue.<\/p>\n
Even though key legislators agreed on the framework of the cannabis reform deal, they couldn\u2019t push past opposition from Republican leaders who refused to allow it to be included in large-scale legislation. But Merkley, a prime sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, says that \u201cwe\u2019ve made so much progress on forging bipartisan consensus,\u201d and he \u201cwon\u2019t rest until we get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWe have a bipartisan agreement which includes tweaks to SAFE Banking and important expungement and second amendment rights provisions.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) December 21, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
The comments echo points that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)<\/a> made on Tuesday, in which he also blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) for tanking the marijuana reform as part of the omnibus appropriations legislation. McConnell\u2019s opposition has also been cited as the reason the reform wasn\u2019t included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n
But Schumer\u2019s remarks at a briefing on Tuesday didn\u2019t reference specifics about what lawmakers were negotiations in terms of the much-anticipated SAFE Plus. While Politico first reported that gun rights would be a feature of the legislation, and sources have told Marijuana Moment the same over recent months, no legislative language of the deal has been publicly released.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a bipartisan agreement which includes tweaks to SAFE Banking and important expungement and second amendment rights provisions,\u201d Merkley tweeted on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
That seems to reference the bipartisan Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act<\/a>, which would incentivize states and local governments to expunge cannabis records in their jurisdictions, and the Gun Rights And Marijuana Act (GRAM) Act<\/a>, which would protect Second Amendment rights for cannabis consumers by exempting people in legalized states from a federal restriction that bars any \u201cunlawful user\u201d of a controlled substance from owning a firearm.<\/p>\n
The note about \u201ctweaks to SAFE Banking\u201d possibly referred to changes were made at the behest of the Justice Department, which sent a memo at the request of Republican senators outlining concerns about potential unintended consequences<\/a> of the reform as it relates to money laundering and other issues.<\/p>\n
Sources previously said that those DOJ concerns had been resolved, but a small group of senators still met with the department this month to seek assurances.<\/p>\n
The \u201ctweaks\u201d also could\u2019ve been related to equity-related components. Advocates has pushed for more targeted language to ensure that the bill supported equity goals and didn\u2019t primarily stand to benefit large corporate interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those who lost loved ones in dispensary robberies, for legal cannabis businesses who can\u2019t access the financial services they need, for communities where cannabis is legal, we can\u2019t let politics block meaningful, commonsense public safety and cannabis legislation,\u201d Merkley said. \u201cI won\u2019t stop pushing to pass the SAFE Banking Act. We pursued every legislative avenue possible this year, and our bipartisan coalition is closer than ever before to getting this to the finish line. Cannabis businesses can\u2019t wait\u2014we must pass it in 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI won’t stop pushing to pass the SAFE Banking Act. We pursued every legislative avenue possible this year, and our bipartisan coalition is closer than ever before to getting this to the finish line. Cannabis businesses can\u2019t wait\u2014we must pass it in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) December 21, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Earlier this month, Merkley said that he would \u201ckeep fighting\u201d to get the reform \u201cpassed this year,\u201d adding that \u201cthis is not the end of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to make sure that legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need\u2014operating in cash is an open door to robbery and money laundering,\u201d he said. That\u2019s also\u00a0a point highlighted in a recent analysis<\/a>\u00a0that looked at the trends and motivations for crimes targeting cannabis businesses in Washington State.<\/p>\n
A Senate source had said last week that Schumer was \u201cmaking a last ditch effort\u201d to attach the cannabis banking language<\/a>\u00a0to the spending bill\u2014but the majority leader wasn\u2019t able to get the deal done. He said the issue would need to wait until the next Congress, which will see Republicans in control of the House.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that negotiations were sensitive around adding anything new to the spending bill, and drug policy reform suffered as a final deal was forged. In addition to the lack of SAFE Banking or SAFE Plus language, the legislation also omitted several other reform proposals that were attached<\/a>\u00a0to spending measures approved in the House and Senate earlier this year. The final bill also maintains a rider that blocks Washington, D.C. from implementing a system of regulated cannabis commerce\u2014another major setback for advocates.<\/p>\n
Like Merkley and Schumer, most advocates will now look ahead to 2023 and the possibility of advancing the reform in a divided Congress.<\/p>\n
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) had signaled that\u00a0he viewed cannabis banking as a likely 2023 issue<\/a>, though a staffer said last week that he was still be open to passing it through the spending package if it contained broader provisions.<\/p>\n
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who will serve as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee in the next Congress, recently indicated that he similarly feels the issue\u00a0will need to be decided after the lame duck<\/a>. The congressman said that he remains opposed to SAFE Banking, but he left the door open to advancing it if that\u2019s the will of his Republican colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve pledged is having an open process. I told my members my view of it,\u201d he said. \u201cMembers are able to come to their own conclusion about the bill. It\u2019s so variable state by state.\u201d<\/p>\n
For his part, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has also pinned blame on McConnell, saying that his vocal opposition to cannabis reform has had a chilling effect of GOP members who might otherwise be amenable to passing legislation that contains SAFE Banking language.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re dead set on anything in marijuana,\u201d he said, referring to Republican leadership. \u201cThat to me is the obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe caucus is clearly divided but the people in power in their caucus are clearly against doing anything on marijuana,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\nD.C. Medical Marijuana Bill To Eliminate License Caps, Provide Tax Relief And More Heads To Mayor\u2019s Desk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
The post Senator Confirms \u2018SAFE Plus\u2019 Marijuana Banking Deal Includes Gun Rights And Expungements, Saying It \u2018Must Pass\u2019 In 2023<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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