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House Lawmakers Caution Key Senate Chairman Not To Overhaul Marijuana Banking Bill

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The sponsors of a House-passed bill that would allow banks to service marijuana businesses sent a letter to a key Senate committee chairman on Tuesday, imploring him to advance the legislation despite his reservations about broader cannabis reform.

In the letter to Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID), the proposal’s original sponsors thanked him for recognizing the public safety risks associated with preventing banks for working with state-legal cannabis businesses, forcing them to operate on a largely cash-only basis. But they urged caution as it concerns changes he floated to the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act.

Crapo has said that while he’s sympathetic to the situation financial institutions have been placed in, given conflicting state and federal marijuana laws, he would like to see revisions, such as only permitting banks to accept marijuana clients that sell products with a maximum two percent THC concentration—substantially lower than is marketed at most commercial retailers.

“The primary objective of our bill is to address public safety concerns resulting from marijuana-related transactions being forced outside the regulated banking system,” the House lawmakers wrote. “We welcome your ideas and solicitation for stakeholder feedback on how to improve this effort.”

“By bringing businesses out of the shadows and into the well-regulated banking system, our legislation will improve transparency and accountability and help law enforcement root out illegal transactions to prevent tax evasion, money laundering, and other white-collar crime. Most importantly, this will reduce the risk of violent crime in our communities as these businesses and their employees are currently targets for crime, robbery, assault and more by dealing in all cash.”

While the original sponsors—Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Steve Stivers (R-OH), Denny Heck (D-WA) and Warren Davidson (R-OH)—said they “share your goal of preventing bad actors and cartels from accessing the financial system” and “agree there is a lack of federal research evaluating marijuana and its effects,” they voiced concerns about his proposed changes.

“However, we should exercise caution before adding limitations to the legislation’s safe harbor that impose unworkable burdens on financial institutions, or would jeopardize the larger, bipartisan effort to address public safety concerns associated with cash-only transactions,” they said.

“We respect your opposition to the legalization of marijuana at the federal level and in the state of Idaho. Many of the 321 Members of Congress who supported H.R. 1595 also oppose federal marijuana legalization. Our bill is about public safety. It does not change the legal status of marijuana and is focused solely on taking cash off the streets and aligning federal banking laws with the decisions states are already making regarding cannabis.”

The letter goes on to say Crapo’s willingness to address issues in the cannabis banking space “is a constructive step forward for our legislative effort and an important step toward making our communities safer and providing regulatory certainty to banks, credit unions, and other firms—many of which are not directly involved in the marijuana industry—which are trying to operate their businesses in a safe and legal way.”

“We stand ready to partner with you and your colleagues, and we look forward to continued progress on this issue,” they wrote.

Read the full marijuana banking letter below: 

House Marijuana Banking Letter by Marijuana Moment on Scribd

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Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.

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