An advisory committee for national Republicans says marijuana causes “violence, depression and suicide”, and they’re calling on Republican lawmakers to oppose legislation allowing banks to work with state-legal marijuana businesses.
The House Republican Policy Committee has released a report declaring their opposition to the SAFE/SAFER Banking Acts, which would allow marijuana banking, as well as legislation that would remove previous marijuana use as a barrier for federal employment and security clearances (the Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility – CURE – Act). The report is titled Guide to the Issues – The Victims of Marijuana Use.
“Marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no mechanism to control rouge producers from increasing potency and causing more harm”, states the committee. “Rather than labeling marijuana as a recreational drug, it should be labeled for what it is, a gateway drug that increases schizophrenia and impairs cognitive ability.”
The report states that “Congress should not pass laws like the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow banks to knowingly accept drug money, [and] Congress should vote no on the CURE Act, which would provide marijuana users possible access to federal security clearances.”
The committee states that marijuana legalization laws lead to increased violence, while also alleging that it leads to “decreased productivity, high unemployment claims, and lawsuits.”
The committee says that “Instead of turning a blind eye to the dangers associated with marijuana and allowing states to have dispensaries on every corner, Congress should work to ensure that laws in relation to marijuana are enforced”.
The SAFE/SAFER Banking Acts and the CURE Act have received widespread bipartisan support. The CURE Act was approved in September in a 30 to 14 vote by the House Oversight Committee, and the SAFER Banking Act in the Senate was approved through the Senate Banking Committee, also in September. In the House, the SAFE Banking Act has 107 sponsors, more than any other marijuana-related bill in US Congress.
