Department of Justice memo raises concerns about SAFE Banking, prompts changes to bill December 20, 2022 By Griffin Coop The move to pass banking reform in Congress isn’t dead yet, but time is running short as senators work to overcome objections raised in a Department of Justice memo during the lame duck session, according to recent reports. The memo obtained by D.C. political outlet Punchbowl News earlier this month outlines the department’s problems with the SAFE Banking Act’s inclusion in a larger spending bill. The bill would allow regulated financial institutions to work with state-legal cannabis companies even while cannabis remains illegal on the federal level, but the memo raised concerns of unintentional consequences that could hinder other prosecutions. Among the issues raised by the Department of Justice memo is that the bill immunizes cannabis businesses rather than the activities of those businesses. The bill could unintentionally immunize those businesses’ illegal activities unrelated to marijuana, the memo said. “Because marijuana would remain illegal under federal law, Congress should ensure efforts to provide access to financial services for state-legal businesses does not unintentionally erect obstacles to prosecution of other illicit activity or activities involving money laundering of proceeds of other illegal drugs or sales of marijuana that do not comply with state requirements,” the memo said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has revised the bill and has shared new language with Senate colleagues, according to a report from Politico. Arkansas Bankers Association President and CEO Lorrie Trogden told Arkansas Cannabiz in an interview in June and another in November that her organization supports the bill.
