Call on Congress to pass SAFE Banking!

Congress is now negotiating the fate of a bill that would make it easier for cannabis businesses to get basic banking services. The SAFE Banking Act, which would allow banks to legally work with state-licensed cannabis businesses, was recently added to a must-pass piece of legislation currently under consideration — the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). We are asking for your help to ensure it passes. 

Click here to send a message to your members of Congress in support of including basic banking protections for state-licensed cannabis businesses in the NDAA.

Leaving cannabis businesses unbanked is dangerous for both workers and communities. It is absurd that state-licensed businesses are required to operate entirely in cash simply because the federal government refuses to budge. Burglaries, armed robberies, and theft occur at disturbing rates. You can take action right now to help.

Small and minority-owned businesses in medical and adult-use states across the U.S. struggle to get started without banks, unable to take advantage of the same workarounds available for well-funded cannabis businesses. Simply put, the Senate’s failure to pass meaningful reform has disproportionately hurt small business entrepreneurs, many of whom are social equity- and minority-owned companies.

You can speak up right now to help.

The SAFE Banking Act is a key step toward ending federal cannabis prohibition. It would not only make businesses safer and give new startups a better chance, but it would also be an important victory in Congressional cannabis reform. Few elected officials anywhere are as popular as cannabis, and few issues in Washington are as bipartisan as SAFE Banking. Help pass this measure right now.  

Please take action today by calling on Congress to pass SAFE Banking.

Thank you for your support.

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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 Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act — or similar language — into the next pandemic relief package.

Due to current federal laws and financial regulations, most banks are unwilling to take the risk of prosecution or sanction to work with state-legal cannabis businesses. At a time when public health and safety are at the forefront of national consciousness, many businesses in the cannabis space are still forced to operate entirely in cash, thereby increasing the risk of virus transmission. Allowing state-legal cannabis businesses access to banking would improve both the safety and transparency of the industry, in addition to eliminating barriers to entry that prevent Americans from communities hit hardest by the war on cannabis from starting businesses.

The banking section of the new relief package, the HEROES Act, would “allow cannabis-related legitimate businesses, that in many states have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic as essential services, along with their service providers, to access banking services and products, as well as insurance.”

While we expect this legislation will pass the House, which could have a floor vote on the relief package as early as this Friday, the fate of the bill in the Senate remains much more uncertain. Please call your Senator now and urge them to support inclusion of cannabis banking provisions in the HEROES Act.

We hope you and yours are staying safe and in good health during this time.

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