Mitch McConnell Slams SAFE Banking Act to Allow Weed Banking, Calls it ‘Poison Pill’

#Senate Minority Leader Mitch #McConnell slammed the #Democrat majority in the #House for #voting to include the #SAFE Banking Act in a broad spending bill. McConnell called the SAFE Banking Act, the provision that allows for #cannabis banking, a “poison pill.”

On #February 4, the majority of the members in the House of #Representatives voted to approve The #America Creating #Opportunities for #Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in #Technology, and Economic #Strength Act of 2022 (America COMPETES Act), which includes the provisions of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. The COMPETES Act is intended, in part, to help the #US compete with #China—which in 2021 surpassed the #US as the world’s #richest #nation, thanks to semiconductor manufacturing and #education.

This occasion marks the sixth time that the House advanced the SAFE Banking Act to the Senate either as an amendment or as a stand-alone bill. The Act was introduced as an amendment by the bill’s sponsor, Representative Ed Perlmutter to allow banks and other financial institutions to cater to state-legal cannabis businesses. Organizations such as the U.S. #Cannabis Council are not allowing McConnell to dismiss cannabis reform in that manner—especially not critical legislation like the SAFE Banking Act. That’s because in the meantime, strings of robberies plague #dispensaries, simply because they are forced to deal in #cash.

Senate Minority Leader McConnell isn’t the only top leader stalling cannabis reform, according to Senator Perlmutter. Senate Majority Leader Chuck #Schumer, he says, insists that #federal legalization should address social equity before being considered. The supermajority of Americans now support cannabis reform, and leaders should take note.