SAFE Banking is back: bipartisan senators refile the cannabis banking bill
Sens. Merkley, Murkowski, Warren and Daines reintroduced the SAFE Banking Act, arguing partial rescheduling still leaves weed businesses stuck in cash.
Here we go again. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) refiled the SAFE Banking Act of 2026 on June 25 with Republicans Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Steve Daines (MT) and Democrat Elizabeth Warren (MA). Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) is leading the House version.
The bill would stop federal regulators from punishing banks that serve state-legal cannabis businesses, or the lawyers, landlords and vendors around them. It bars pulling a bank's deposit insurance mainly over cannabis clients and gives banks and their employees a safe harbor from prosecution and asset forfeiture. Hemp and CBD businesses get protections too. Banks can still say no.
The timing was deliberate: it landed days before the DEA's broader rescheduling hearing opened. Supporters say moving some marijuana to Schedule III doesn't give banks the legal clarity they need. The American Bankers Association endorsed the bill, and Merkley's office notes earlier versions have passed the House seven times.
Why it matters: Rescheduling doesn't fix banking. Until something like SAFE passes, legal operators keep running cash-heavy businesses that attract robberies.
