McCarter partner Guillermo Artiles participated in a panel at the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s 2019 Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference. The panel discussed how banks are still taking a risk when providing financial services for cannabis companies until marijuana is no longer a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
According to Guillermo, one of the bills that have passed the House and is pending in the Senate is the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. While this legislation would not legalize marijuana at the federal level, it would provide a safe harbor for national banks and insurance companies to accept funds from cannabis companies.
He added that President Trump will likely sign the bill if it passes the Senate, stating, “He can comfortably say to his base that ‘this wasn’t a marijuana bill, this was a banking bill.’”