Friend,

Last month, we successfully fought back an attempt by big industry to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in Congress. While we agree that marijuana businesses need access to banking services, the bill prioritized profits at the expense of equity and justice for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities that have borne the brunt of prohibition.  

Supporters of the SAFE Banking Act claim it will help these communities by giving greater access to equity, capital, and banking services for small minority business owners so they can compete in the predominately white-owned big marijuana industry. They also claim it will prevent robberies of small marijuana businesses that have targeted Black and Brown communities. These claims just aren’t true but they can be addressed if Congress fixes the banking bill and acts soon. 

To learn more check out this new op-ed by Chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition Dasheeda Dawson about why now’s the time to craft a marijuana banking bill that truly enhances safety, benefits small businesses, and creates equitable opportunities for communities that have been most harmed by prohibition.

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Read the Op-Ed: [link removed]
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The war on marijuana is a war on people. Our priority continues to be ending this war by passing the MORE Act in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition centered in racial and social justice, but we must also do everything we can to ensure any banking reform that moves forward doesn’t leave the people we’re fighting for behind.

Sincerely,

Maritza Perez
Director, National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance


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