A Democratic senator who voted against a marijuana banking bill in committee last year says he does support the reform but wants to ensure that communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition are not left behind if it\u2019s enacted.<\/p>\n
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), the lone Democrat to oppose the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act<\/a> when it was taken up by the Senate Banking Committee last September, weighed in on the legislation and recent administrative rescheduling announcement during an interview on MSNBC on Saturday.<\/p>\n Warnock appeared less critical of the measure than he did at the time of the committee markup, where he cast the protest vote because he said it did not adequately address the consequences of the war on drugs, while benefitting the cannabis industry. He sought to amend the bill, but his proposals were not ultimately adopted.<\/p>\n Even so, he said in the new interview that \u201cI support the efforts to make it easier for folks who are engaged in cannabis research\u2014for those who are involved in this emerging industry\u2014to be able to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n However, he said his \u201cconcern\u201d is still rooted in the fact that \u201centire blocks and sections of cities all across our country have been hollowed out by the war on drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so my concern is that, as we move this SAFER Banking legislation closer to getting over the finish line, that we don\u2019t leave these communities behind,\u201d Warnock said. \u201cIt makes no sense that you literally have people locked up in our prisons and in our jails right now for things the last a couple of American presidents have admitted to doing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBlack communities have seen far more devastation from the enforcement of marijuana than the drug itself,\u201d he said<\/a>, adding that the Biden administration\u2019s move to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug \u201cis a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut a lot of this happens at the state level,\u201d the senator said. \u201cI think it\u2019s important that the president has set a tone for this to happen, but there\u2019s a lot more work to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether Warnock would cast another protest vote if the SAFER Banking Act is taken up on the floor, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has repeatedly described as a priority. But the leader has also discussed his intent to add criminal justice reform provisions, including by attaching language from a bipartisan bill that would incentivize state-level cannabis expungements.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said earlier this month that marijuana industry banking access would make the agency\u2019s job easier<\/a>, and officials \u201cshouldn\u2019t just sit on our hands\u201d as the federal government moves to reschedule cannabis.<\/p>\n Also, a former GOP congressman said this month that he expects Republicans will be \u201cmore comfortable voting yes\u201d for incremental marijuana reform measures<\/a> like the banking access bill for the industry now that the administration is officially pursuing rescheduling.<\/p>\n Senate sources have indicated that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is again fighting against the SAFER Banking Act<\/a>, however, raising questions about its path to passage despite the sizable bipartisan support it enjoys.<\/p>\n DOJ Seeks Input On \u2018Unique Economic Impacts\u2019 Of Marijuana Rescheduling For \u2018Multibillion Dollar Industry\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Democratic Senator Who Voted Against Marijuana Banking Bill Voices Continued \u2018Concern\u2019 With Lack Of Criminal Justice Reform<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Democratic senator who voted against a marijuana banking bill in committee last year says he does support the reform but wants to ensure that communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition are not left behind if it\u2019s enacted. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), the lone Democrat to oppose the Secure andContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75447"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75448,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75447\/revisions\/75448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Democratic Senator Who Voted Against Marijuana Banking Bill Voices Continued \u2018Concern\u2019 With Lack Of Criminal Justice Reform<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"