In a historic moment, the U.S. House of Representatives, yesterday, voted 321 to 103 in favor of H.R.1595, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019, also known as the “SAFE Banking Act.”  If ultimately enacted into law, this legislation would provide insurers, as well as banks and other institutions, a “safe harbor” to do business with “cannabis-related legitimate businesses” in the United States.

The SAFE Banking Act is intended to “create protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such businesses.”  As Politico observed, though, “[t]he cannabis banking bill isn’t just about banks.”  It also affects insurance companies and the insurance market.Continue Reading In historic vote, U.S. House passes SAFE Banking Act; but, what will U.S. Senate do?