The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, introduced by House speaker Nancy Pelosi, will allow legal cannabis businesses to leverage traditional banking services.

The 1,815-page bill is an initiative led by Colorado Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. The bill had been passed last September and promotes public safety by offering the marijuana industry an alternative to dealing in cash.

The SAFE Banking Act has been under review by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs since last year.

“Our industry employs hundreds of thousands of Americans and has been deemed ‘essential’ in most states. It’s critically important that essential cannabis workers are not exposed to unnecessary health risks due to outdated federal banking regulations,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “On behalf of the legal cannabis industry, we commend the congressional leadership for prioritizing public health and safety by including sensible cannabis banking policy in this legislation.”

This week Kevin Sabet, the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, says the Act would allow cartels and criminal syndicates access to the U.S. financial system.

According to Sabet, marijuana should also be precluded because the industry was not forced to discontinue operations.

“Numerous industries have been forced to completely shut down and have made great sacrifices to comply with shutdowns and limitations on their business operations. The marijuana industry has been a painfully obvious exception to this,”

Sabet said. “The idea of including this industry in the relief package makes no sense.”
“COVID-19 bills should provide targeted aid to those who need it. Pelosi’s latest ‘relief bill’ is 1,800 pages long and filled with liberal excess,” remarked Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican. “I will stand against this massive $3 trillion Democrat wish list bill. Dems continue to show zero fiscal sanity.”


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