U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015 in the Senate on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
The bill, co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, would give state-compliant cannabis businesses access to the banking system by protecting financial institutions against prosecution or asset forfeiture for providing services to those businesses.
The sale of recreational marijuana is legal in Washington and a few other states, including Oregon and Colorado, but federal law prohibits the drug so most banks don’t want to deal with marijuana businesses. Kent is one of many cities in the state that bans recreational marijuana businesses.
“Providing access to basic banking services for legitimate cannabis businesses should be a no-brainer,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association in a media release. “Without banks, many of our members are forced to operate entirely in cash, which puts their employees at risk for crime and creates massive challenges for businesses simply trying to pay their taxes, licensing fees, and other ordinary expenses.
“The legal marijuana industry is worth nearly $3 billion nationwide. We shouldn’t be forced to carry that around in duffel bags.”
Merkley is joined on the bill by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Similar legislation has been proposed in the House in recent years, but this is the first piece of stand-alone banking access legislation to be introduced in the Senate.
“We’re grateful to Senator Merkley for bringing together colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support a commonsense solution to the crisis currently vexing businesses and public officials in the 23 states with some form of legal marijuana,” added Smith. “This bipartisan support should make it clear to Senate leadership that this is priority legislation that deserves to be moved on quickly and decisively.”
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