Urge Congress to Support the SAFE Banking Act
Congress should allow state-licensed cannabis businesses access to the banking system while protecting financial institutions from legal and regulatory penalties.
What This Means In Your State
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For years, the conflict between state and federal cannabis laws has left many cannabis businesses operating in cash, creating significant public safety risks in states where it’s been legalized.
Bringing these state-licensed businesses and their proceeds into the formal financial system would provide a meaningful level of transparency and accountability.
Due to the legal risks under federal law, many financial institutions are unwilling to provide common banking products and services… to state-authorized marijuana businesses.
Legal adult-use markets have become powerful economic engines, creating thousands of new jobs and small business opportunities across the country.
Legalization shifts consumers to safer legal markets while generating tax revenue for state programs.
Forcing the industry to transact business in cash is dangerous and it impedes commerce.
A lack of access to safe banking not only fuels these crimes (by increasing the perception that cannabis businesses carry large amounts of cash on-site), but significantly threatens the public safety of neighborhoods and communities nationwide.
Everything You Need to Know
The legal landscape regarding cannabis and hemp is rapidly changing. Cannabis is legal in many states, but federal law may conflict with some state laws. In April, the Justice Department rescheduled state-licensed medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act and initiated a new process to consider rescheduling non-medical marijuana. As of November 2026, hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) and related products, which are widely available for purchase, will be federally reclassified as marijuana. Even banks that don’t directly serve cannabis businesses can still be affected through indirect connections to companies involved in the industry. These developments underscore the need for Congress to act.
No matter where you stand on cannabis legalization, limited access to banking forces state-licensed businesses to operate outside the regulated financial system. They often rely on cash or other alternative payments, lack consistent monitoring for suspicious activity, and face an increased risk of violent crime. Banks help detect suspicious activity and identify financial crime risks. Our communities would be safer, and the cannabis industry would be better regulated, if cannabis businesses were able to access the banking system.
This is a federal issue, and Congress has an opportunity to act.
Congress should allow state-licensed cannabis businesses to participate in the banking system and remove the risk that banks and other financial services providers will face legal liability, regulatory, civil, or even criminal penalties for providing services to state-licensed cannabis businesses and their service providers. Congress should support and pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (S. 4942/H.R. 9471), which previously passed in the House and Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support.
Learn more in-depth about cannabis banking here.
National Data
- Number of people employed in the legal U.S. cannabis industry: 425,002.
- 48 states, including DC, have legalized some form of medical cannabis (ABA Cannabis Banking).
- States have generated more than $28.4 billion in adult-use cannabis tax revenue since the first legal adult-use markets launched (Marijuana Policy Project).
State-specific data
- Legal status: medical only, adult-use, both or not legal.
- State cannabis tax structure/rate.
- Amount of revenue generated from tax on cannabis.
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Urge Congress to Support the SAFE Banking Act
Ask Congress to support legislation that would allow banks to serve cannabis-related businesses if their state has legalized cannabis in some capacity.
