CUNA, ABA Endorse Second Marijuana Bill
The Cooperative Credit Union Association has also endorsed this latest version of the bill.
CUNA and the American Bankers Association have thrown their support behind legislation that would exempt states that legalize marijuana from Controlled Substance Act provisions making cannabis illegal.
“Credit unions operating in states where marijuana is legal have members and member businesses involved in the marijuana market who need access to traditional depository and lending services, the absence of which creates a significant public safety issue,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said in a letter to sponsors of the measure.
The legislation is being sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and David Joyce (R-Ohio). Gardner and Warren also introduced the legislation during the 115th Congress.
The bill would, among other things, state that as long as states and tribal nations comply with basic protections, the marijuana provisions of the federal law no longer apply to them as long as their states have legalized cannabis.
Banks and credit unions have complained that cannabis-related businesses in states where marihuana is legal have been unable to obtain basic financial services since under federal law, cannabis is illegal.
That, they say, means that any financial institution doing business with marijuana businesses could be subject to sanctions from the regulator.
As a result, few banks and credit unions have been willing to offer services to those businesses.
The Cooperative Credit Union Association also has endorsed the bill.
“Credit unions have received requests for services in a consistent and increasing amount and have been sought out as a preferred local provider of banking services for these new and growing businesses,” John Winne, interim CEO of the group, which represents credit unions on Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
In announcing the bill, Gardner said, “The federal government is closing its eyes and plugging its ears while 47 states have acted.”
Warren went further, saying that marijuana should be legalized.