Cannabis multi-state operators (MSOs) are hopeful marijuana banking reform is on the horizon after the SAFER Banking Act legislation cleared a key hurdle on Wednesday.
Members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs voted 14 to 9 to send an amended version of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act to the full Senate for consideration.
The legislation aims to improve access to banking and financial services for legal cannabis businesses, many of which operate as cash-only enterprises due to marijuana being illegal at a federal level.
“Realizing this first vote out of the Senate signals strong bipartisan support from both chambers of Congress,” Trulieve Cannabis Corp. CEO Kim Rivers told Reuters.
“We are hopeful that the revised language and clearer guidelines for financial institutions will continue to break through the many unproductive hurdles that have prolonged the passage of this bill for far too long,” cannabis firm Acreage Holdings Inc. also told the publication.
The advancement of the proposal, however, did not boost cannabis stocks, which rallied in early September on optimism around cannabis banking reform and the potential rescheduling of marijuana as a lower-risk drug.
The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF traded down 0.8% at US$8 while the AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF was down 1.3% to US$3.48 on Wednesday afternoon.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, shortly before the Committee approved the SAFER act, committed to bring the bill to the Senate floor “for a vote as quickly as possible.”
“Our SAFER Banking Act will connect cannabis businesses, especially ones in minority and underserved communities, to find traditional financial resources like bank accounts and small business loans, creating a safer and more transparent environment for the industry to grow,” he said. “Now is the time to get it done.”
However, a group of Republican lawmakers led by Senator Pete Ricketts (Republican – Nebraska) has committed to opposing the legislation, claiming it would facilitate money laundering for drug cartels and investments in the industry that would lead to products with higher THC potency.
Additionally, the impending government shutdown could delay the legislation. The government is set to shut down at 12:01am Eastern Time on Sunday should Congress fail to agree on new spending bills before the start of the new fiscal year.
