Federal Cannabis Update: 2021

Federal Cannabis Update: 2021

The number of states embracing the cannabis industry has been on the rise, but federally, cannabis laws have remained stagnant. Although previous bills have failed to pass, 2021 may be different. This year, several bills have been presented with the intent of preventing banks from not doing business with cannabis companies, decriminalizing cannabis, promoting social justice, and ultimately legalizing the substance. 

Current Status

18 states and Washington D.C. have legalized cannabis for recreational use while 36 have legalized it for medical use. Currently, cannabis is illegal on the federal level, but several attempts have been made to change this. Two bills in particular that have been introduced in the House are the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (the SAFE Act) and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (the MORE Act).

Both bills have been presented previously and received bipartisan support in Congress but have failed to pass through the Senate. With some modifications, those in support of cannabis hope to get the necessary votes in the Senate to have federal cannabis laws reformed.

SAFE Banking Act

The SAFE Banking Act was first introduced in Congress in May of 2017 and has been reintroduced several times since, most recently being this past March. The latest version passed the House on April 19th, although it is not the first version to have passed the House. The proposed SAFE Banking Act would prohibit federal bank regulators from penalizing institutions that choose to engage in business with cannabis industry companies. Specifically, federal bank regulators wouldn’t be able to terminate or limit deposit or insurance of a company solely for doing business with a cannabis company. The Senate has yet to vote on the bill.

MORE Act

The MORE Act was reintroduced into Congress for the second time in May 2021. If passed, it would remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substance Act list, effectively legalizing it on the federal level. This would mean that anyone with a previous conviction related to cannabis would have it expunged from their record. In addition, it would create a federal cannabis tax that would be used toward community reinvestment programs. This is not the first time the bill has been brought to the floor. It was first presented in 2019 when it passed a full floor vote in Congress but died on the Senate floor. 

Supporters of the bill view it as an opportunity to fight social and racial injustice. In addition to decriminalizing cannabis and expunging past convictions from one’s record, the bill also includes a new Opportunity Trust Fund. This would provide funding to invest in communities affected by the war on drugs through job training and reentry, youth mentoring, literacy, legal aid, as well as health education programs. The MORE Act has yet to be scheduled for a vote, but unfortunately, many expect that this bill will die in the Senate yet again. Even still, with support from major companies like Amazon and social justice advocacy groups like the ACLU, maybe Congress will take note.

Although the future is unclear for these two bills, it is apparent that momentum is starting to build. Whether this is due to the spread of legalization on the state level or the realization of the positive outcomes of federal cannabis law reform, the legislative branch appears to be prioritizing the legislation of cannabis.

How can Sapphire Risk help?

Tony Gallo and the team at Sapphire Risk Advisory Group has over 30 years of security experience and expertise. Follow us on social media to stay up to date with federal cannabis law updates!