A bipartisan group of senators and congressmen has reintroduced cannabis banking reform legislation, following the federal reclassification of medical cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-OR, alongside Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, and Steve Daines, R-MT, introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2026 to give banks legal clarity to serve state-legal medicinal and recreational cannabis businesses. Rep. David Joyce, R-OH, introduced companion legislation to the House, with seven colleagues.
The bill would prevent federal regulations from prohibiting or discouraging banks from providing services to legal cannabis businesses or businesses that provide services to the cannabis industry, such as for marketing or legal counsel.
More banks than ever currently bank cannabis-related businesses – some 816, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s most recent numbers from 2024. But that’s only about one-fifth of U.S. banks.
The lack of options historically had cannabis businesses operating in an all-cash or cash-heavy capacity.
“Legal cannabis businesses operating in all-cash is dangerous for our communities — encouraging criminal activity like robberies, money laundering, and organized crime,” Merkley said in a prepared statement last week. “It’s past time we ensure legal businesses can access the financial services they need to help keep their employees, their businesses, and their communities safe.”
Under the SAFE Banking Act, regulators would be prohibited from terminating or limiting a bank’s deposit insurance purely because it provides services to cannabis or cannabis-adjacent businesses or incentivizing the bank to halt such services.
SAFE Banking would also provide protections for hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol-related businesses.
California became the first state to legalize cannabis for medical use in 1996. Dozens of states have since followed. Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use in 2012, and 22 states plus the District of Columbia have since joined them.
The foundational cannabis banking reform bill, then known as the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, was first introduced by Reps. Ed Perlmutter, D-CO, and Danny Heck, D-WA, in 2013. The MBAB evolved into SAFE Banking in 2017 and, since then, passed the House seven times. It has never passed the Senate.
American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols released a statement in support of SAFE Banking.
“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,” Nichols said. “The SAFE Banking Act would provide banks with a clear federal safe harbor, allowing them to serve state-legal businesses while increasing transparency for law enforcement and reducing risks to the public.”
