Cannabis legislation: SAFER Banking Act advances in the Senate
Cannabis legislation might be nearing a milestone. If passed through Congress, the SAFER Banking Act could give registered cannabis businesses access to small business loans and various financial protections.
Poseidon (PSDN) Co-Founder and Managing Partner Emily Paxhia joins Yahoo Finance Live and notes that this is the first time the SAFER Banking Act has made a run through the Senate, but expresses concerns that it “might not be a priority” for House lawmakers amid the approaching 2024 election and the looming threat of a government shutdown.
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Video Transcript
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JULIE HYMAN: Landmark marijuana financing legislation clearing a big hurdle on Capitol Hill. A Senate committee voting in favor of a markup on the SAFER Banking Act. Passing the bill, it's now going to head to the Senate and the House for more debate. Now, if the act, if made into legislation, is going to lift the bank and, if passed, is going to lift the banking ban for legal cannabis businesses. That had been in place since it was legalized and many states.
With more on this Emily Paxia, the co-founder and managing partner of the cannabis investment firm, Poseidon. She, you, Emily have been at the Benzinga Cannabis Conference today in Chicago. So I'm sure this was a big topic of conversation. But Emily, you've been in this business for a while. You've tracked the industry for a while. You've been disappointed before by Congress and the Safe Banking Act, right? So what are the real prospects here? How are you gaming it out?
EMILY PAXIA: Yeah. And it's nice to see you again, Julie. Thanks for having us on. You know, Poseidon has been investing for 10 years in the cannabis industry. And we've seen various things occur at the federal level. Like, we had the Cole Memo, which identified ways that banks could work with the industry. And then when Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded that, we've been operating without anything for this entire time.
Now, SAFE has passed the House multiple times, as you pointed out. This is the first time this is getting through the Banking Committee in the Senate and going to the Senate floor. And we do think that Senator Schumer will call it to the floor within this session.
JOSH LIPTON: And what, Emily, let's say it passes the Senate. It gets to the House. What do you give the chances there in a GOP-controlled House?
EMILY PAXIA: Yeah. So what is interesting about cannabis is it actually pulls really well compared to other issues across party lines. So this isn't necessarily a cut-and-dry GOP or Democrat issue. It really does get interest, especially from the constituents of these representatives.
The House is a little bit more complicated. It's more complicated than it's ever been for our issue. I think my biggest concern about the House is that we're going into an election year cycle, which is already very noisy. And our House already is having trouble, look at what's going on with the budget right now. And so I do have concerns that it's not going to be a priority for that House and for it to get to called to the floor.
But I do actually think we have the votes. I was talking to some political analysts and consultants all day, obviously, as I always do about this. We think the votes are there. It's just going to be whether or not the machinations of how the House works will get it to that point. So we'll be watching more in 2024 on that. But we think it could get done.
