Marijuana possession is STILL illegal on the Federal level….
Federal law supersedes state law….
So banks and actually anybody or company with marijuana could be prosecuted on a federal level….
As states legalize marijuana to regulate its sales and make MONEY…..
Banks and other financial institutions moving into the business have a risk from federal law enforcement actions….
It is uncertain if Republicans would support the legislation in the Senate….
It would amend the Controlled Substances Act so any business operating in compliance with state cannabis laws is not in violation of the law.
Last Congress, the bill was intended to counter President Trump administration’s tougher stance on marijuana use that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions moved to crack down on state efforts to allow recreational use of marijuana.
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), a cannabis trade association, applauded the bill on Thursday.
“Regulating cannabis is successfully replacing illicit markets with licensed businesses in a growing number of states across the country. This legislation will simply allow those state regulatory programs to succeed without federal interference,” Aaron Smith, executive director of NCIA said in a press release.
The Cannabis Trade Federation (CTF), a nonprofit to educate and advocate for cannabis in public policy, hired 15 lobbyists to push the STATES Act in January.
“The STATES Act, it’s a bipartisan bill that the president has said he will sign into law,” CTF CEO Neal Levine told The Hill. “So it’s the one piece of legislation from our intel that we think we have a legitimate chance to pass into law that would fundamentally address all of the major issues that the cannabis industry faces today,”
Recreational marijuana is legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia, while the use of medical marijuana legal is legal in 33 states. …