The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to safeguard banks that serve state-legal cannabis businesses, a move desperately sought by growers, processors and retailers in Arizona and around the country who have been forced to operate largely in cash.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act passed by a 321-103 count.
The bill could face tough odds in the Senate, but the House action was nevertheless a remarkable step toward cannabis policy normalization in Congress, a sign of the shifting politics on the issue as more and more states legalize the drug.
"This is an $11 billion industry and growing," Portland Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a longtime leader on cannabis reform, said on the House floor.
