Today, the House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 1595, the SAFE Act, a bill that would grant the marijuana industry access to the federal banking system and open the doors to Wall Street investment. SAM president Dr. Kevin Sabet released the following statement in response:
“This bill, the ‘UN-SAFE Act,’ fails to do the very things it claims to do. As marijuana is illegal under federal law, the bill would fail to offer banks safe harbor under the Money Laundering Control Act or the Bank Secrecy Act. This bill is nothing more than a backdoor attempt at legalizing marijuana. Moreover, allowing banking access to the marijuana industry would open up direct access to Wall Street investment into the sale and marketing of highly potent pot candies, cookies, sodas, and ice creams. With this obstacle out of its way, there will be little left to stop the industry from metastasizing into the next Big Tobacco. Access to banking in Canada has allowed offshore investment firms to invest in marijuana, some with ties to organized crime. We should not repeat this mistake.”
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