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1 1 (November 15, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govenli0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congjressional ______ Research Service Marijuana Banking: Legal Issues and the SAFE(R) Banking Acts November 15, 2023 A number of states have adopted laws permitting marijuana sales and other marijuana-related activities, even though those same activities remain unlawful under federal drug and financial laws. Due to the legal risks under federal law, many financial institutions are unwilling to provide common banking products and services-such as debit or credit card payment services, business loans, electronic payroll services, and checking accounts-to state-authorized marijuana businesses. Some argue that this unwillingness, in turn, has reportedly stifled growth of state-authorized marijuana businesses and forced them to operate largely in cash, raising public safety and tax compliance concerns. Both the House and the Senate have considered legislation designed to reduce some of the legal risks associated with providing financial services to marijuana businesses operating in compliance with state laws. In September 2023, the Senate Banking Committee favorably reported one such bill-S. 2860, the Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act of 2023 (SAFER Banking Act). A similar bill, H.R. 2891, the Secure And Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act), has been introduced in the House, and, although it has not done so thus far in the 118th Congress, the full House passed versions of the SAFE Banking Act seven times in the 116th and 117th Congresses. This Legal Sidebar analyzes the liability that financial institutions risk by serving marijuana businesses given the discordant state and federal marijuana legal regimes. It finishes with a discussion of the SAFER Banking Act. A more detailed analysis of the information in this Sidebar is available in the Financial Services for Marijuana Businesses section of CRS Report R44782, The Evolution ofMarijuana as a Controlled Substance and the Federal-State Policy Gap, coordinated by Lisa N. Sacco. Federal Financial Laws and Marijuana Businesses A number of federal laws prohibit activities involving the possession and distribution of both marijuana and assets tied to marijuana sales. Controlled Substances Act. The federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) criminalizes the manufacture, sale, possession, and distribution of marijuana. Under the CSA, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I drugs are statutorily considered to have a high potential for abuse with no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and may be lawfully used only for federally Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11076 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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