On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators proposed a bill that would ensure the marijuana industry access to safe banking.
The Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act would prohibit the federal government or banking regulators from targeting banks that do business with the legal cannabis industry.
Currently, most banks refuse to work with marijuana businesses for fear of negative consequences. Those businesses are therefore forced to operate in cash, posing massive security risks.
“It’s the biggest problem we have,” the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) told the Huffington Post earlier this year.
“Forcing businessmen and businesswomen who are operating legally under Oregon state law to shuttle around gym bags full of cash is an invitation to crime and malfeasance. That must end,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), another sponsor, said the banking situation “has forced the industry to adopt an all-cash business model that fosters violent crime and puts all Coloradans at risk,” creating a “major public safety problem.”
There is already a House version of the bill, with 26 cosponsors.
“Without banks, many of our members are forced to operate entirely in cash, which puts their employees at risk for crime,” Aaron Smith of the National Cannabis Industry Association, told The Hill. “The legal marijuana industry is worth nearly $3 billion nationwide. We shouldn’t be forced to carry that around in duffel bags.”
Rand Paul, who recently made history by fundraising with the NCIA, also supports the bill.
