Bipartisan Coalition Urges Congress to Pass SAFER Banking Act

Strategic Insights -

A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, including Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, has joined forces to urge Congress to pass the SAFER Banking Act of 2025. The coalition's letter to congressional leaders highlights the need for federal banking reform to address public safety concerns, improve tax collection, and enhance regulatory oversight in the cannabis industry. The SAFER Banking Act aims to provide legal clarity for banks and financial institutions to serve state-regulated cannabis businesses, reducing the risk of violent crime and enabling states to effectively regulate and tax these industries.

Key Takeaways:

  • The coalition emphasizes that current federal banking restrictions create unnecessary public safety risks by forcing legitimate cannabis businesses to operate primarily in cash, making employees and customers targets for violent crime.
  • Thirty-nine states, three territories, and the District of Columbia permit medical cannabis use, while 24 states, two territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use cannabis, with nearly 75% of Americans living in jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized in some form.
  • The SAFER Banking Act would create a targeted safe harbor allowing depository institutions to provide financial services to covered businesses in states that have implemented laws and regulations ensuring accountability in the cannabis industry.
  • Industry experts project that U.S. annual sales of regulated cannabis could reach $34 billion by the end of 2025, supporting approximately 425,000 jobs nationwide, with U.S. legal cannabis retail sales reaching $30.1 billion in 2024, a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
  • Compliance with tax laws would be simpler and easier to enforce with regulated tracking of funds in the banking system, resulting in higher tax revenues, with 21 states currently collecting cannabis tax revenues.
  • The coalition stresses that the legislation is common-sense, bipartisan, and respects both state sovereignty and the current federal status of cannabis.

Statistics:

  • $30.1 billion: U.S. legal cannabis retail sales in 2024, a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
  • $34 billion: Projected U.S. annual sales of regulated cannabis by the end of 2025.
  • 425,000: Jobs supported nationwide by the cannabis industry.
  • 39: States, three territories, and the District of Columbia that permit medical cannabis use.
  • 24: States, two territories, and the District of Columbia that have legalized adult-use cannabis.
  • 75%: Percentage of Americans living in jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized in some form.
  • 21: States that currently collect cannabis tax revenues.
  • 2025: Targeted safe harbor window for the creation of depository institutions to provide financial services to covered businesses.

Sources:

  • Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, "Attorney General Clark Joins Bipartisan Coalition Supporting Federal Cannabis Banking Reform," July 24, 2025.
  • https://ago.vermont.gov/blog/2025/07/24/attorney-general-clark-joins-bipartisan-coalition-supporting-federal-cannabis-banking-reform