Today, much of the United States has legalized some form of recreational or medical marijuana. Because cannabis remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, individuals who grow, possess, use, sell, transport, or distribute cannabis remain subject to federal criminal prosecution. Financial institutions providing banking services to legitimate and licensed cannabis businesses under state laws are subject to criminal prosecution. As you can imagine, this is a big problem for businesses that legally grow, market, or sell cannabis in states that have legalized its sale, since they’re generally locked out of the banking system. The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021, known as the SAFE Banking Act, is legislation that would impact the ability of federal banking regulators to intervene in the actions of a depository institution dealing with a legal cannabis business. In this program, we’ll talk about what this act intends to accomplish, when and if it becomes law.