Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. The bill would enable banks and other financial institutions to provide cannabis companies with their banking and financing services without the fear of federal persecution. Democrats have the majority in both the House and the Senate. So the possibility of the SAFE Banking Act clearing its next hurdle, the senate, is much brighter than it was in the past.
At the same time, Senate leadership is looking to make a major change at the federal level. That very likely means removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Ron Wyden are crafting their own comprehensive cannabis reform bill. All 3 senators’ previous reform bills were specifically about removing cannabis from this act. So surely their current confidential cannabis bill will do the same. Schumer, Booker and Wyden each introduced a cannabis reform bill in the last legislative session. Schumer had the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, Booker introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, and Wyden introduced the Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act. It’s likely that the bill they’re currently working on together is a combination of the three. The details of this bill are confidential at the moment and there’s no timeline yet. They have been seeking input from the National Cannabis Industry Association and other similar groups.
This all are signs that legalization of Cannabis is a reality. The days of the Cannabis prohibition might be soon over soon over. May be we are talking weeks rather than months.
This is the moment cannabis investors have been waiting for.
Sven Franssen