Marijuana banking reform has been excluded from a large-scale spending bill that’s expected to be released as soon as Monday, Senate and House staffers familiar with negotiations told Marijuana Moment. A Republican senator who has been pushing to include the cannabis reform later confirmed the development.
It’s not currently known whether the omnibus appropriations legislation includes a number of other marijuana and drug policy reforms that the House included in its versions of various spending bills earlier this year, or it if maintains a rider that has prevented Washington, D.C. from implementing a system of regulated, adult-use cannabis commerce.
The omnibus development represents the second major setback for supporters of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act during the lame duck session. After the proposal was excluded from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) earlier this month, the hope was that appropriations could serve as the vehicle for protecting banks that work with state-legal marijuana businesses. That didn’t pan out, as Politico first reported.
Despite Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “making a last ditch effort” to put cannabis banking reform in the omnibus, as one senior Democratic Senate staffer put it last week, negotiations failed to produce a package that includes the measure.
The lack of SAFE Banking language leaves supporters with few legislative options—and very little time—to advance the reform…
