Congress Could See New Marijuana Plan
Democrats in the United States Senate are looking for a compromise on cannabis as Congress winds down to the final few months, according to Politico. While lawmakers were recently hoping for more widespread measures, they are beginning to lean towards a compromise.
A possible proposed plan, the SAFE Banking Act, would make it possible for financial institutions to provide businesses in the cannabis industry with banking services, Politico reported.
Representative Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Colorado who is a co-sponsor of the House bill, told Politico that this plan is still new.
“The discussion is about using SAFE as the nucleus of the thing, and [to] add some provisions that will be acceptable to Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. It’s at its very early stages,” Perlmutter said.
There are 42 Senator cosponsors and 180 Members of Congress cosponsors of the bill.
“To date, the SAFE Banking Act has passed the U.S. House six times, most recently in February 2022 as an amendment to the America COMPETES Act,” the Ed Perlmutter website shares. “Previously, the SAFE Banking Act, as a standalone bill, passed the House by a vote of 321 to 101 on April 19, 2021, with 106 Republicans voting in support. In February 2019, the SAFE Banking Act prompted the first-ever congressional hearing on the issue of cannabis banking.”
According to Politico, Democratic lawmakers want the package to include measures for social equity and criminal justice, while Republicans want to pass it the way it is now. A Republican cosponsor, Montana Senator Steve Daines, has been against adding any provision to the bill.
However, there is no current concrete legislative plan for marijuana-related reform. Politico reported that Senate Democrats are still working on a plan to propose to Senate Republicans.
Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer from Oregon shared that there is a “greater sense of urgency” for democrats to get marijuana legislation out there.
Blumenauer said, “I think there’s a broader base of support.”
