SAFE Banking Act «very close» to passage, says U.S. Senate Majority Leader

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer believes Congress is «very close» to introducing and passing the SAFE bill which would open up access to banks for legal cannabis businesses. The text also provides for the erasure of previous cannabis-related convictions.

The text has already passed 7 times by the House of Representatives but has always stalled in the Senate.

«We're getting very close to that,» says declared Schumer in an online debate. «I'm working in a bipartisan way with Democrats and Republicans to pass the SAFE Banking Act, which allows financial institutions to get involved with cannabis businesses and lend them money - but also to do certain things for justice, like expunge a record.»

The plan, according to several lawmakers, is to introduce a package of modest cannabis reforms during the float period following this week's midterm elections, pass it through both chambers and send it to the president's desk before the end of the current Congress.

The SAFE bill, which Mr. Schumer is working to finalize with bipartisan and bipartisan input, does not include provisions to legalize cannabis at the federal level.

US lawmakers have reported that the SAFE legislation has been amended and will now contain protections for banks working with legal cannabis businesses as the original text intended, but also other, more modest proposals to provide access to medical cannabis for military veterans, promote research and more.