Merkley y Daines instan a sus colegas a construir un camino hacia una legislación bipartidista que garantice que las empresas legales de cannabis puedan acceder a servicios financieros cruciales

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) are urging the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to schedule a markup for the Ley de Banca Segura y Justa (SAFE), bipartisan legislation introduced by Merkley and Daines that would finally allow legal cannabis businesses to access banking and other financial services.

“This is not simply a matter of banking,” the senators wrote in their letter to Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA). “The inability of these state-legal entities to bank their significant cash reserves is an issue of public safety. According to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), there have been 135 robberies and armed burglaries against cannabis dispensaries in the state since May 2020.  Montana is no exception to this. In Yellowstone County, two medical marijuana dispensaries were burglarized on the same day in March.”

“According to reporting, the majority of Americans now have access to legal cannabis – through laws allowing for either recreational or medical use.[1] Further, according to BDSA, legal sales in the United States in 2020 generated $17.5 billion, with the expectation that those sales will reach $41.3 billion by 2026.[2] For the good of our communities, we cannot allow huge proportions of these funds to remain unbanked,” continuaron. “We owe this to our constituents to hold a markup on this bill and further the legislative process.”

To address the safety concerns resulting from these state legal businesses being shut out of banking services, the SAFE Banking Act would prevent federal banking regulators from:

• Prohibir, penalizar o disuadir a un banco de proporcionar servicios financieros a un negocio de cannabis legítimo sancionado y regulado por el estado, o a un negocio asociado (como un abogado o propietario que presta servicios a un negocio de cannabis legal);
• Terminar o limitar el seguro de depósito federal de un banco únicamente porque el banco está brindando servicios a un negocio de cannabis autorizado por el estado o negocio asociado;
• Recomendar o incentivar a un banco para que suspenda o rebaje la prestación de cualquier tipo de servicios bancarios a estas empresas; o
• Tomar cualquier acción sobre un préstamo a un propietario u operador de un negocio relacionado con el cannabis.

El proyecto de ley también crea un puerto seguro contra el enjuiciamiento penal y la responsabilidad y el decomiso de activos para los bancos y sus funcionarios y empleados que brindan servicios financieros a negocios de cannabis legítimos y sancionados por el estado, al tiempo que mantiene el derecho de los bancos a optar por no ofrecer esos servicios. El proyecto de ley también proporciona protecciones para los negocios relacionados con el cáñamo y el CBD derivado del cáñamo.

El proyecto de ley requeriría que los bancos cumplan con la guía actual de la Red de Ejecución de Delitos Financieros (FinCEN), mientras que al mismo tiempo permitiría que la guía de FinCEN se simplifique con el tiempo a medida que los estados y el gobierno federal se adaptan a las políticas legalizadas de cannabis medicinal y recreativo.

Full text of the senators’ letter is available aquí, y sigue a continuación.

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Dear Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Toomey,

We write today imploring you to schedule a markup for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S. 910). This legislation, which would create common sense reform to the state-legal cannabis industry, has strong bipartisan support in the Senate with 37 co-sponsors, plus ourselves. On April 19^el, el Ley de Banca Segura passed the House of Representatives for the second time, also with strong bipartisan support in a vote of 321-101.

This is not simply a matter of banking. The inability of these state-legal entities to bank their significant cash reserves is an issue of public safety. According to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), there have been 135 robberies and armed burglaries against cannabis dispensaries in the state since May 2020.  Montana is no exception to this. In Yellowstone County, two medical marijuana dispensaries were burglarized on the same day in March.

And yet, we continue to see movement in states towards legalization. In the November 2020 election, New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona passed measures to support recreational use. Laws have also been passed in New Mexico, with retail sales to go into effect by April 2022; New York; and Virginia. According to reporting, the majority of Americans now have access to legal cannabis – through laws allowing for either recreational or medical use.[3] Further, according to BDSA, legal sales in the United States in 2020 generated $17.5 billion, with the expectation that those sales will reach $41.3 billion by 2026.[4] For the good of our communities, we cannot allow huge proportions of these funds to remain unbanked.

We owe this to our constituents to hold a markup on this bill and further the legislative process. To foster success rather than gridlock, we believe this markup on S. 910 is necessary and should focus on policies with robust bipartisan support.

We ask that the committee take action on this legislation without delay.

Atentamente,