The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021 (SAFE Banking Act) in a bipartisan vote of 321-101. The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Follow this link to contact your lawmaker right now and ask for a YES vote.Lawmakers today in the House of Representatives debated the MORE Act, which is now expected to get a vote by the entire House of Representatives tomorrow. For the first time, Congress will vote on a measure to end the federal war on cannabis.It’s a big deal. And it is a chance for you to have a direct say in the law-making process. If you haven’t already, now is the time to send a message to your lawmaker to ask for support…

Now it’s up to the Senate, and you can help.Several big measures have been put forth by the House of Representatives in the past 24 hours. Here is a quick rundown of the key provisions and how you can help:Protections for legalization programsThe House voted to protect state legalization programs from federal law enforcement. The Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton amendment was added to a budget bill called the CJS, which received a huge vote in support (254-163). Thanks to all those who reached out to…

Call your Senator and urge them to include cannabis banking reform in the next relief package. Yesterday, House leadership released a coronavirus relief bill that includes provisions to protect banks that service cannabis businesses from being penalized by federal regulators. MPP has advocated for cannabis reform to be incorporated into COVID-19 legislation, including by sending a letter to House leadership and signing onto a letter with allies urging Congressional lawmakers to add the Secure and…

We have big news to share: Just now, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 1595) in a 321-103 floor vote! Today’s vote was historic, as the SAFE Banking Act is the first standalone cannabis bill to ever receive a full vote in Congress. This legislation would prevent federal financial regulators from punishing financial institutions that provide services to state-legal cannabis businesses. Currently, most banks are unwilling to work with the cannabis industry because…

The emerging cannabis industry — with $17 billion in sales this year — is currently troubled by a lack of racial diversity within its ranks. It is impossible to ignore the fact that members of the African American community and other racial minorities have paid a particularly high price in the war on cannabis. When the business community that follows legalization leaves behind people of color, there is cause for concern.  Recently, equity in the cannabis industry has moved to the forefront of many…

Urge your U.S. Representative to support the SAFE Banking Act of 2019! Today, 33 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws allowing for either medical or adult-use cannabis. An additional 14 states allow for limited medical use. But under current law, financial institutions providing banking services to legitimate and licensed cannabis businesses under state laws are subject to criminal prosecution under several federal statutes, such as "aiding and abetting" a federal crime and money…

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) approved a resolution Monday urging that the Controlled Substances Act should be amended to remove marijuana from scheduling in order to give federally approved banks the ability to work with marijuana businesses. This would also allow states to determine their own marijuana policies without the threat of federal interference. For a resolution to pass, it must be supported by a majority of participating legislators in each of 75% of the states…

PNC Bank notified MPP that it would be closing our accounts on July 7. The bank cited federal prohibition and the fact that some of our donors are involved in legal, regulated marijuana businesses as the reason for closing the accounts. CNN Money reports: The organization does not deal directly with the sale or distribution of marijuana, Tvert said. But the 22-year-old lobby group does receive money from state-legal marijuana businesses that pay taxes. Marijuana remains illegal in the eyes of the…

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed four pieces of cannabis-related legislation this year, including two on Monday. One of the bills signed this week, HB 4094, will ensure that financial institutions that serve both medical and nonmedical cannabis businesses will not be subject to state criminal laws. The other, SB 1524, makes it easier for veterans who receive services from the VA health system to renew medical marijuana registrations. Her signatures follow last week’s signature on SB 1511, the second…