Marijuana advocates and executives are up in arms after opposition from Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) resulted in Congress failing to pass a key cannabis banking bill, dealing a massive blow to the industry.
The $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill unveiled Tuesday includes all kinds of expenditures, but it does not include the SAFE Banking Act, a bipartisan measure that would undo federal restrictions that make it difficult for legal cannabis businesses to access financial services.
“The fact that there was speech after speech and tweet after tweet about how cannabis policy was a priority and we know they were very certain that the votes are there, but it just was never brought to the floor, is of course disappointing,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
The measure has a ton of political support.
It passed the House seven times — receiving a whopping 321 votes last year — and had enough GOP support to reach 60 votes in the Senate.
But it did not have the support of McConnell, whose opposition kept it out of the spending bill.
McConnell first blocked the SAFE Banking Act’s inclusion in the defense bill earlier this month, arguing that it would make the U.S. financial system “more sympathetic to illegal drugs.”
It now faces an even steeper climb to become law in the next Congress, with Republicans taking over the House.
The bill’s supporters argue inaction could…
