Marijuana companies could secure financial services and confusion over banking for hemp operators could be clarified after the reintroduction of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the U.S. Senate.
The measure, which is strongly supported by both Republican and Democrat lawmakers, has passed the House of Representatives seven times previously. But the Senate has never voted on the SAFE Act, which stalled in the lawmaking process last year. The legislation now goes before the Senate Banking Committee ahead of a first Senate vote.
Current rules discourage banks from providing financial services to marijuana businesses because their products are designated Schedule 1 drugs and are not legal at the federal level, although as many as 40 states allow the products. Banks are under threat of having their federal deposit insurance discontinued or limited, and could face criminal prosecution, liability and asset forfeiture by serving marijuana companies.
Makers of legal hemp products have been eligible to work within the existing banking framework since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the crop federally. But most banks turn away hemp businesses due to their confusion over the difference between marijuana and hemp.
The SAFE Act would remove those barriers.
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