House GOP strips language aimed at protecting banks from cannabis crackdowns June 14, 2024 AggregatedNews Banking, Finance & Real Estate, Federal 0 Comments House Republicans nixed text aimed at protecting banks from cannabis crackdowns from a government funding bill after blowback from fellow GOP lawmakers. The measure was included in the party’s initial version of its annual financial services and general government bill,… Read More→
Lawmakers reintroduce SAFE Banking Act, a bill the cannabis industry hails as a lifeline April 27, 2023 AggregatedNews Banking, Finance & Real Estate, Federal 0 Comments A group of bipartisan lawmakers reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the House and Senate on Wednesday, after the legislation designed to free up banking services for the cannabis industry stalled in last year’s Congress. The bill,… Read More→
Congress sends first weed bill to Biden November 17, 2022 AggregatedNews Federal 0 Comments Passage of the legislation signaled a new era in federal cannabis policy: It’s the first standalone marijuana-related bill approved by both chambers of Congress. The Senate passed a bill designed to expand medical marijuana research on Wednesday by unanimous consent.… Read More→
I evolved on cannabis — Congress should, too August 19, 2022 AggregatedNews Op-Ed, Opinions 0 Comments When I entered the halls of Congress for the first time in 1979, the idea of legislating cannabis was not only off the table; it was nowhere near it. Like most Americans at the time, my understanding of cannabis was… Read More→
House passes bill to facilitate medical marijuana research April 4, 2022 AggregatedNews Federal, Science and Technology 0 Comments The House passed bipartisan legislation on Monday that would facilitate scientific research into the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Lawmakers voted 343-75 to approve the bill, with all of the votes in opposition coming from Republicans. Passage of the… Read More→
Congress to take up marijuana reform this spring December 19, 2021 AggregatedNews Federal 0 Comments Congressional Democrats are gearing up for a sweeping set of initiatives aimed at decriminalizing marijuana that they plan to take action on this spring. The federal proposals seek to establish 21st century banking services for the nearly $18 billion industry and purge the criminal… Read More→
Why the next Congress is unlikely to legalize marijuana November 30, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments On Election Day, two staunchly conservative states legalized recreational marijuana. A third of Americans now live in a state where weed is legal for adult use. Fresh Gallup polling says 68 percent of the country favors having legal access to marijuana. But the Senate… Read More→
State ballot measures to legalize cannabis could add $9 billion to US marijuana market September 24, 2020 AggregatedNews Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota 0 Comments Despite a delay in the U.S. House of Representatives vote for a bill that would seek to legalize cannabis at the national level, the legal cannabis market in the U.S. still stands to substantially grow as more states plan to… Read More→
House vote on marijuana legalization bill postponed after backlash from moderate lawmakers September 18, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments Democrats in the House of Representatives postponed a planned vote next week on marijuana legalization following a backlash from moderate Democrats. The legislation, the MORE Act, would legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge some marijuana-related criminal records, though it… Read More→
States plow forward with cannabis, with or without Congress September 14, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments Roughly 1 in 3 Americans could have access to legal recreational marijuana if voters approve state ballot initiatives this November. While a planned House vote on legalizing weed at the federal level is scheduled for later this month, the real action remains… Read More→
Marijuana vote poses November risk for Democrats September 9, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments Democrats are taking an unprecedented gamble this month: voting to legalize cannabis at the federal level. The MORE Act would remove the penalties for marijuana, erase some criminal records and create grant programs for people hit especially hard by the… Read More→
Bill to decriminalize marijuana at federal level up for House vote next month August 31, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments A landmark bill that would decriminalize marijuana use at the federal level is up for vote soon. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the legislation in September, according to an email sent out on Friday by Majority Whip James Clyburn. Politico first reported on… Read More→
Utah attorney general wants Congress to let marijuana businesses use banks May 24, 2020 AggregatedNews Banking, Finance & Real Estate, Utah 0 Comments Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes joined a bipartisan coalition of 34 state and territorial attorneys general asking Congress to let legal marijuana businesses access the federal banking system. They are urging Congress to pass the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE)… Read More→
Postponing The Green Wave: Cannabis Legalization In 2020 May 21, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments Coming into 2020, policymakers in eight states expressed support for regulated medical or adult-use cannabis sales, and advocacy groups in nine states had efforts underway to include legalization on ballots in November. With cannabis already legal for medical use in 33… Read More→
Coronavirus spells doom for federal cannabis legislation May 13, 2020 AggregatedNews Policy & Legal 0 Comments Rep. Earl Blumenauer's (D-Ore.) road map for the current Congress ended in full legalization by the end of 2019. But instead of a complete overhaul of the nation's cannabis laws in the 116th Congress, one chamber passed one cannabis bill… Read More→