Cannabis Advocates Hope to Pass SAFE Banking Act in Next Coronavirus Package

This week a selection of cannabis associations and lobbying groups wrote to House leaders encouraging them to include the SAFE Banking Act in the next coronavirus relief bill. If passed, SAFE would allow cannabis companies to set up and access bank accounts. Introduced to the House in March 2019, SAFE went through Congress in September and has since been held up in the Senate.

Deemed as an essential service, cannabis dispensaries have stayed open during the pandemic, with many reporting a boost in revenue.

“The cannabis industry lacks access to banking services that could eliminate cash transactions and minimize virus transmission,” the letter states. “In 2019, it is estimated that sales of cannabis in the United States topped $12 billion – the vast majority of which were cash transactions. Previously, this situation created an unnecessary public safety risk and undue safety burden on state and local tax and licensing authorities who must receive and process large cash payments. Now, as recent reports show that viruses can live on cash for up to 17 days, the public safety concerns of this cash-only system compound.”

And as worries about contagion rise, so to do concerns about crime, with some dispensaries reporting an increase in burglaries during the pandemic. The hope is that with access to banking, less cash will need to be kept on premises, reducing the risk of theft.

“It’s only getting worse,” said Morgan Fox, a spokesperson of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “At the beginning there was a real spike of crimes against cannabis dispensaries in a number of states, and I have a lot of fear that that’s going to get even worse now. And then on top of that are all the health and safety concerns with cash forcing people to actually touch money; and because it has to be in person, it makes social distancing more difficult.”

At the beginning of April House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she wanted SAFE included in the next coronavirus relief bill, that second package has come and gone but perhaps a third time might be the charm for cannabis companies.

Brendan Garrett was a Reporter at deBanked.