MJBizMag March 2022 - 36

marijuana and, over time, create a
national marketplace.
Many comprehensive measures
already are on the table, including the
social justice-focused MORE Act, which
the U.S. House of Representatives has
passed before.
At press time, Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow
Senate Democrats Cory Booker of New
Jersey and Ron Wyden of Oregon were
continuing to work on a sweeping,
comprehensive measure called
the Cannabis Administration and
Opportunity Act (CAOA). The bill is
expected to be unveiled in April.
The second bucket contains reforms
needed by state-legal cannabis
businesses because marijuana is
federally illegal, Galoob said.
That includes the SAFE Banking
Act and eliminating the application
of Section 280E, the provision of the
IRS tax code that prevents cannabis
companies from taking standard
business deductions.
" There are politics, policies and
personalities in each of those buckets, "
Galoob said. " Each of those live on very
distinct political and legislative thoroughfares
and pathways. "
The questions one needs to ask,
Galoob said, are:
* What is the political landscape that
we are faced with now, and how do
we drive the opportunity through
that landscape?
* What is the terrain between now
and November, and how should we
be marching given the players and
the politics and what else Congress
is dealing with?
Cannabis Banking
The SAFE Banking Act is the measure
that would help cash-dependent
marijuana businesses the most.
Galoob said she believes that passing
SAFE Banking is a realistic goal for this
year and would help create momentum
for further reform by " letting the
36 March 2022 | MJBizMagazine
Chuck
Schumer
economics of the industry influence
public policy. "
SAFE Banking was stripped out of
a defense budget bill last year but
was recently revived and attached to
a federal technology and innovation
spending bill that was passed by
the House on Feb. 4. But it's unclear
whether SAFE Banking will pass the
full Congress.
One hitch: Schumer and Booker
have made it clear they first want their
comprehensive marijuana bill to be
considered in the Senate, even though
it's believed to be extremely unlikely
the two could muster the 60 votes
needed for passage.
That led some industry insiders to
conclude the senators were responsible
for stripping SAFE Banking out of the
recent defense budget bill.
In fact, Booker said last year that
Cory
Booker
any marijuana legislation needed to
include provisions to correct America's
failed war on drugs, although he later
told Yahoo Finance that he supported
SAFE Banking and saw its potential to
be the " sweetener " to get moderates on
board with equitable justice reform.
SAFE a 'Viable'
Stand-alone
Steve Hawkins, president and CEO of
the U.S. Cannabis Council, sees similar
reform pathways as Galoob.
Hawkins said what has happened
to SAFE Banking so far in the 2021-22
congressional session is " part of the
dance " and not uncommon when
congressional leaders have bills they
want to get first consideration.
" There are various legislative
agendas, " Hawkins said. " But I'm
confident that when the smoke clears,
we'll get a chance to get (SAFE Banking)
to the Senate floor. "
Hawkins noted that SAFE Banking
has 40 Senate co-sponsors, including
nine Republicans.
" I think it's definitely viable as a
stand-alone " measure, Hawkins said,
if it doesn't pass as an attachment to
another bill.
U.S. House Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a
Colorado Democrat who announced
he will not run for reelection, has been
the biggest champion of SAFE Banking
over the years and has pledged to get it
across the finish line before he leaves
Congress.
The HOPE Act
Hawkins indicated the HOPE Act
might offer the equitable justice
provisions that Schumer, Booker and
other progressives want but which
currently aren't included in the SAFE
Banking bill.
The fact that U.S. Reps. OcasioCortez
and Joyce teamed up to
introduce the measure in the House is
seen as indicative of the broad support
the bill could get.
MJBizMag March 2022

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