Republicans in New Mexico say they legalize marijuana, but let the government sell it

Congressional Democrats are already moving forward with plans to consider major changes to the federal marijuana laws in 2019.

While the Republican-controlled House has been in control of cannabis-related measures for several years, the new Democrat majority in the House announced Wednesday a hearing next week to examine the difficulties faced by the House. Marijuana companies to open and maintain a bank. accounts.

Entitled "Challenges and Solutions: Access to Banking Services for Cannabis Companies", the hearing will be held on February 13 before a House Financial Services subcommittee.

Although an increasing number of states are considering legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, cannabis remains banned by the federal government. As a result and despite an orientation note issued in 2014 on the subject by the Obama administration with the aim of solving the problem, many financial service providers are reluctant to collaborate with the sector, fearing to violate the laws on money laundering or drugs.

"When we introduced this bill six years ago, we warned that forcing these companies to do cash transactions threatened public safety. No hearing has been given, "said Denny Heck (D-WA) in an e-mail, referring to the legislation on the marijuana bank filed by himself and the representative Ed Perlmutter (D -CO) during the last congresses.

He lamented that Republican leaders did not schedule a hearing on the proposal even after the death of a security guard at a Colorado clinic during a robbery.

"President Waters has made addressing this urgent and belated matter one of her top priorities, demonstrating she understands the threat to public safety and the need for Congress to act," Heck said. the new chairman of the commission. "We have a bipartisan proposal to allow well regulated marijuana companies to manage their money safely and efficiently for law enforcement. I look forward to refining and legislating it. "

A hearing on the issue was in preparation was first reported this week by Politico, and Marijuana Moment said the full committee is also actively considering pbading a bill on marijuana banks in the coming months. .

The planned new marijuana hearing is a sign that the Democrats intend to propose cannabis legislation this year and will likely be the first in a series of House-level committee actions on the issue.

"The upcoming hearing offers the Democratic Party a real opportunity to badert its leadership by finally starting the discussion on how we will end the policy of criminalizing marijuana that has failed," said Justin Strekal, Political Director. from NORML.

Although two limited bills on medical cannabis research were presented to House committees last year, they have never been successful. Meanwhile, Republican leaders have consistently prevented members from offering amendments to marijuana legislation, including those relating to banks.

On the other hand, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) suggested in a note to party leaders late last year to continue a phased approach to legalize marijuana in 2019. His plan recommends that the Financial Services and other committees are starting to hold meetings. Hearings on progressive reforms such as banking access, expansion of research and medical cannabis for veterans, before pbading bills on these issues for the purpose of approving a law broader aimed at officially ending the federal prohibition of marijuana by the end of the year.

A bill introduced by Heck and Perlmutter to prevent banks from being punished for collaborating with legal cannabis companies, brought together 95 Cosponsors at the last Congress and 20 senators signed a complementary bill , but none of them was auditioned or put to a vote.

"Denying the legal cannabis businesses of the states of basic banking and forcing them to operate entirely in cash presents a significant risk to safety, not only for these companies and their employees, but also for the public," Don Murphy, director Federal Policies for Marijuana Draft Policy, said in an email. "The support for solving the problem of cannabis banks is strong and bipartite, and it seems that the Congress is ready to adopt a real common-sense solution. Members concerned with public safety should take the opportunity to express their support for this legislation. "

The Congress has held only a handful of hearings on marijuana reform issues in recent years and never before, at a time when extensive legislation on cannabis reform appeared to be about to be adopted.

"This hearing is historic for advocates of cannabis reform, business owners and the banking sector.It could directly lead to the first of a series of positive changes in the legislative cycle of 2019", said Morgan Fox, National's director of media relations. Association of the cannabis industry, said in an email. "Enabling banks to work more easily with cannabis-producing companies will benefit public safety, increase transparency, provide more financing options for small businesses and communities targeted by prohibition, and help businesses flourish." to be able to continue to move the illicit market ".

Last year, with the exception of the two Cannabis Research Legislation Commissions, which were not preceded by formal hearings on relevant issues, working groups Senate have repeatedly held lengthy discussions on marijuana.

In 2013, for example, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened a hearing to understand the fact that a growing number of states legalized marijuana, contrary to federal law.

The Senate Caucus on International Drug Control, which is not an official standing committee, held a discussion on the enforcement of federal marijuana legislation in 2016. Its two co-chairs, Sense. Charles Grbadley (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), have long been among the most vocal opponents of cannabis reform in Congress, although Feinstein began to change positions last year.

Also in 2016, the Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on the potential risks and benefits of cannabis for medical purposes, but this did not lead to a vote on a marijuana law.

Meanwhile, the pressure in favor of the cannabis bank has increased. Several senior officials of the Trump administration have indicated that they were supportive of a clarification of the problem.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, for example, told a committee of the House early last year that he was in favor of marijuana companies keeping their profits in banks.

"I badure you we do not want bags of money," he said. "We want to find a solution to ensure that companies with wide access to cash have a way to put them in a deposit institution so that it is safe."

In a separate hearing, Mnuchin revealed that the treatment of his problems was at the top of his list of concerns.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the growing gap between federal and federal marijuana laws "puts federally chartered banks in a very difficult situation … it would be great if it could be clarified."

And last month, the controller of the currency, Joseph Otting, called on Congress to "act at the national level to legalize marijuana if they want the entities involved in this case to use the US banking system."

Meanwhile, while many large financial institutions are moving away from the cannabis sector, federal data show that a growing number of banks are starting to work with producers, sellers, processors and related companies. .

It has not yet been announced who will testify at the cannabis bank hearing next week before the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions.

This piece was first published by Forbes.