This past Friday, Colorado’s governor Jared Polis (D) sent a letter to the Senate sponsors of a federal marijuana legalization bill.

In the letter, Polis urges the senators to pass incremental cannabis banking and tax reform first before moving forward with the comprehensive legislation to end prohibition.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) is a bill to deschedule marijuana and promote social equity. It is being sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

“I am thrilled that you are bringing forward a long-term, comprehensive solution that deschedules cannabis while enhancing social equity pathways,” the governor wrote. “I hope that you will first focus your efforts on the two biggest barriers to the success of the cannabis industry: banking and IRS Code Section 280E.”

The Governor noted that the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on several occasions, “has more bipartisan support than ever before and can be passed in the short-term as you continue to work on the details of the CAOA.”

Booker said in July that he “will lay myself down” to block any other senators who seek to pass marijuana banking legislation before the body approves comprehensive cannabis reform.

According to Polis, the banking bill is an important public safety issue because existing cannabis businesses operate on a largely cash-only basis. That makes them “targets for crime” and put them at a disadvantage “compared to other legal businesses by being unable to open bank accounts or obtain loans at reasonable rates.”

“The cannabis industry is simply too large to be prohibited from banking opportunities, and the Senate must remedy this harm by bringing this measure up for a vote in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs immediately,” the governor said in his letter.

“Similarly, the cannabis industry has been stymied by 280E, which prevents these businesses from taking business-related deductions associated with the sale of cannabis,” he added.

“Congress must swiftly act to pass any measure, a number of which have been introduced in past sessions, to make an exception for legal cannabis businesses from 280E. While the CAOA would address this issue by descheduling cannabis, a narrow measure focused on relieving cannabis businesses from the detrimental effects of 280E would expeditiously solve this problem.”

“Congress has the power and traction to address these inequities in the near-term while continuing to refine the CAOA, and I encourage you to efficiently take any opportunity to pass legislation concerning banking or 280E,” he said.


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