Congress Takes Another Step Toward Reforming U.S. Cannabis Laws. A Good Sign for the SAFE Banking Act?

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary held a first-ever hearing which, essentially, advocated for significant reforms of our nation’s marijuana laws. The hearing was titled "Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform," and you can watch it on YouTube here, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into. 

At least a majority of the committee seemed to start from the premise that marijuana should not be a Schedule I controlled substance. Even the Republican minority offered a witness who supports significant marijuana reforms, including passage of the STATES Act which, for those who may have forgotten, would protect state-legal cannabis businesses from federal prosecution. 

Hopefully, this hearing is also a positive sign for the future of the SAFE Banking Act, which would further open the door to federally chartered banks working with cannabis businesses (our previous posts on this Act are available here). The SAFE Banking Act is still waiting for a vote on the House floor, after being approved by the House Financial Services Committee last March. 

These federal reforms, even the discrete ones, really will matter to New England’s marijuana industry. Even if Congress acts piecemeal, a little bit of reform here and little bit there could quickly give a massive boost to the industry by opening the door to things like banking and credit card processing, and eliminating the constant looming threat of federal enforcement against state-legal businesses.