{"id":7407,"date":"2017-05-19T00:37:21","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T00:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2655009&amp;preview_id=2655009"},"modified":"2017-05-19T00:37:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T00:37:21","slug":"federal-bills-from-colorado-legislators-seek-to-shield-state-marijuana-laws-open-banking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/federal-bills-from-colorado-legislators-seek-to-shield-state-marijuana-laws-open-banking\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal bills from Colorado legislators seek to shield state marijuana laws, open banking"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/federal-bills-from-colorado-legislators-seek-to-shield-state-marijuana-laws-open-banking\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: May 18, 2017, 12:59 pm \u2022 Updated: May 18, 2017, 7:11 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/05\/18\/federal-marijuana-bill-protect-state-laws-colorado-rep-diana-degette-mike-coffman\/79759\/#disqus_thread\" class=\"commentsNameLink\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <strong>Alicia Wallace<\/strong>, <em> The Cannabist Staff<\/em>, and <strong>Mark Matthews<\/strong>, <em> The Denver Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Colorado federal lawmakers this week amplified efforts to protect state-enacted marijuana laws and cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Reps. Diana DeGette and Mike Coffman on Thursday introduced the Respect States\u2019 and Citizens\u2019 Rights Act of 2017, which would add a provision to the Controlled Substances Act that would prevent federal preemption of state law. A day earlier, Colorado\u2019s two senators threw their support behind banking legislation for the marijuana industry.<\/p>\n<p>DeGette, a Democrat, and Coffman, a Republican, said in interviews Thursday that they <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/03\/lists-federal-marijuana-laws-legislation-congressional-cannabis-caucus\/73878\/\">resurrected their legislation<\/a> \u2014 it previously was introduced in 2012, 2013 and 2015 \u2014 because of the saber-rattling that\u2019s coming from the new administration around drugs, crime and marijuana enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really important right now, obviously, because it would clarify what the federal law is,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cWhat would flow from that, I think, would be letting people have their bank accounts and ensuring (Attorney General) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/jeff-sessions\/\">Jeff Sessions<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Department of Justice<\/a> aren\u2019t going to come down and enforce the federal laws on states that have exercised their right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance \u2014 the strictest of classifications, defined as having a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.<\/p>\n<p>DeGette and Coffman\u2019s bill aims to clarify congressional intent within the CSA by inserting a provision about federal preemption:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201c(b) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING STATE MARIHUANA LAWS.\u2013In the case of any State law that pertains to marihuana, no provision of this title shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which that provision operates, including criminal penalties, to the exclusion of State law on the same subject matter, nor shall any provision of this title be construed as preempting any such State law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/12\/28\/dea-marihuana-spelling-history\/69651\/\">Why the federal government still calls cannabis \u201cmarihuana\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That list of states has increased significantly since DeGette and Coffman first broached this issue in 2012, when Colorado voters decided to legalize adult-use marijuana. Currently, 29 states, a number of U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., have medical marijuana laws; eight states have recreational marijuana laws; and several others allow the limited use of non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD).<\/p>\n<p>The support in Congress has grown as well, DeGette said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore states are legalizing either recreational or medicinal marijuana and their representatives are recognizing that this is creating some unique challenges that need to be addressed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>However, the federal marijuana bills may never see the light of day because of staunch opposition from committee chairs, Coffman said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI worry that we\u2019re not where we need to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But Coffman, who opposed Colorado\u2019s legalization of recreational marijuana, said it\u2019s a matter of states\u2019 rights and a matter of fighting for his constituents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think in terms of getting the administration to back off, this is really important,\u201d he said. \u201cEven if this legislation doesn\u2019t pass, it sends a signal to the administration to watch it when it comes to coming down on states that have made the decision for medical and\/or recreational marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>(Story continues below video)<\/em><strong \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\">[embedded content]<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The resurrection of the Respect States\u2019 and Citizens\u2019 Rights Act of 2017 came a day after Colorado\u2019s senators, Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner, announced their sponsorship of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2017, the Senate companion bill to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/27\/federal-marijuana-banking-bill-congress-perlmutter\/78531\/\">legislation introduced a few weeks back<\/a> by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>The initial sponsors of the Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act include Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon; Ron Wyden, D-Oregon; Rand Paul, R-Kentucky; Patty Murray, D-Washington; Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada; and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConflicting federal and state marijuana laws make it difficult for legitimate businesses to use the basic financial services they need access to and this bipartisan legislation gives them that access they need,\u201d Gardner said in a statement. \u201cWe must also take into account the risk to public safety as these businesses are being forced to carry around bags of money to pay for their employees and rent. Legal businesses should not be treated like this, and I\u2019m glad that Republicans and Democrats are working together to address this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bill\u2019s primary aims are as follows, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardner.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/gardner-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-provide-access-to-banking-services-for-legal-cannabis-businesses\" target=\"_blank\">according to Gardner\u2019s office<\/a>. The legislation would prevent federal banking regulators from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business, or an associated business (such as a lawyer or landlord providing services to a legal cannabis business);<\/li>\n<li>Terminating or limiting a bank\u2019s federal deposit insurance solely because the bank is providing services to a state-sanctioned cannabis business or associated business;<\/li>\n<li>Recommending or incentivizing a bank to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; <\/li>\n<li>Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a cannabis-related business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Other provisions include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creating\u00a0a safe harbor from criminal prosecution and liability and asset forfeiture for banks and their officers and employees who provide financial services to legitimate, state-sanctioned cannabis businesses, while maintaining banks\u2019 right to choose not to offer those services;<\/li>\n<li>Requiring banks to comply with current Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidance, while at the same time allowing FinCEN guidance to be streamlined over time as states and the federal government adapt to legalized medicinal and recreational cannabis policies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Denver Post staff writer Mark Matthews reported from Washington, D.C.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3726936\/Respect-States-and-Citizens-Rights-Act-of-2017.pdf\">The Respect States\u2019 and Citizens\u2019 Rights Act of 2017<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3726936\/Respect-States-and-Citizens-Rights-Act-of-2017.pdf\">Respect States\u2019 and Citizens\u2019 Rights Act of 2017 federal bill (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3726936\/Respect-States-and-Citizens-Rights-Act-of-2017.txt\">Respect States\u2019 and Citizens\u2019 Rights Act of 2017 federal bill (Text)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colorado federal lawmakers this week amplified efforts to protect state-enacted marijuana laws and cannabis businesses. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1062,77,5667,9,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[3632,2655,5673,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7407"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}