ARLINGTON, VA — The conservative non-profit ALEC, short for the American Legislative Exchange Council, has passed a resolution this month “…urging congress to act to provide access to banking and insurance services to cannabis and cannabis-related legal businesses.”
The proposed legislation would provide protections for insurers ranging from surety bond writers to depository institutions that offer services to the cannabis industry. Passing such legislation would certainly have a huge effect on an industry that is quite cash-heavy due to there being few options for business owners in terms of banking.
Indeed, ALEC’s report goes on to say that a bipartisan panel of 38 Attorneys General “…have identified cash associated with the cannabis industry as a public safety concern.” With a great deal of press covering the issue of cash in the cannabis industry it should be no surprise that ALEC has decided to tie this issue into the overarching problem of banking as a whole.
For a non-profit with a strong pedigree in conservative policy-making circles, this is a pretty big deal. That being said, the resolution’s language is riddled with cautionary statements to make it emphatically clear that ALEC doesn’t support running afoul of federal or state laws currently on the books.
Commenting further on the current issue of financial legality, “…Congress should enact common-sense federal laws that respect state law and promote public safety without compromising federal enforcement of anti-money laundering laws against criminal enterprises.”
ALEC’s support for the removal or modification of legal barriers that hinder the growth of the cannabis business community should certainly be viewed as a positive development. Especially since ALEC has a strong pedigree within the greater conservative non-profit/think tank space.
Generally speaking, conservative pundits, commentators, and think tanks have either opted to refrain from commenting on the cannabis issue as a whole or have acted to limit the current trend of legalization sweeping across the U.S. Surely any support from previous adversaries should certainly be welcomed.
Photo courtesy of Reason
