Cannabis Banking Yet Again Excluded From Coronavirus Relief Package

After having discussed and ruled out the possibility already once, the Senate seemingly reiterated their stance on a much-needed banking and insurance reform for the marijuana sector. The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act) would let banks and insurance companies cater to cannabis-related businesses with their services, without violating federal law. And the issue had already received actual support in the House. In fact, a standalone bill passed the House with support from both Democrats and Republicans last year, and the content of said bill was part of the stimulus package proposed to the House in May 2020.

However, as everyone expected, the Senate proved to be very much stuck on its usual stance on cannabis-related banking. The standalone bill keeps lying around in the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate’s latest round of coronavirus legislation that was made public earlier this week does not include any part of the SAFE Banking Act, nor any safeties put in place for the marijuana sector.

Although there is still a chance that the Senate agrees to including the SAFE Banking Act’s content into a merged relief bill during bicameral consultations, it is highly improbable that this will happen. As quoted by Cannabis Law Report, US Senator Mitch McConnell is openly and declaredly not interested in moving forward any such provisions. Which leaves, once again, the cannabis industry exposed to all the downsides of being a cash only enterprise.