Progressive, Civil Rights Groups: Delay House Marijuana Banking Bill

Progressive and civil rights groups are asking House Democratic leaders to delay consideration of marijuana banking legislation so Congress can deal with the cannabis issue “holistically.”

“We are concerned that if the House approves this bill, it will undermine broader and more inclusive efforts to reform our country’s marijuana laws,” the groups, including the ACLU, the Center for American Progress and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, wrote in their letter Tuesday.

The House may consider marijuana banking legislation as soon as next week. The bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) and Denny Heck (D-Wash.), would provide financial institutions a safe harbor for providing services to marijuana-related businesses in states where cannabis is legal.

The bill has 206 cosponsors in the House.

Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Id.) has said his committee also might consider marijuana banking legislation by the end of the year but indicated that the bill may differ from the House bill.

The groups asking for a delay cited statistics that they say show that although marijuana use is equal between whites and Blacks, African Americans are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana offenses.

They asked House Democratic leaders to address the criminal justice reform consequences of marijuana prohibition in any cannabis bill.

They said the Perlmutter-Heck bill “narrowly addresses the issues of banking and improved access to financial services, measures that would benefit the marijuana industry, not communities who have felt the brunt of prohibition.”

They said that it would be a mistake to consider the banking bill while many other consequences of marijuana prohibition remain unresolved.