A Republican-led committee in the United States House of Representatives has released a spending bill that would allow Washington D.C. to open recreational marijuana stores roughly a decade after the district legalized them, while also allowing banks to work with state-legal marijuana businesses.
The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee has released its Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Services and General Government Bill. The measure would remove a long-standing provision under federal law that prevents Washington D.C. from allowing legal recreational marijuana sales, despite the district legalizing them in 2014. The removal of the provision was sought by Chair Dave Joyce (R-OH), who also co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
The spending bill also includes language that would protect financial institutions that provide services to marijuana and hemp businesses that are legal under state law
“None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to penalize a financial institution solely because the institution provides financial services to an entity that is a manufacturer, a producer, or a person that participates in any business or organized activity that involves handling hemp, hemp-derived cannabinoid products, other hemp-derived cannabinoid products, marijuana, marijuana products, or marijuana proceeds, and engages in such activity pursuant to a law established by a State, political subdivision of a State, or Indian Tribe”, states the provision. “In this section, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the United States.”
The provision shares similarities with the SAFE Banking Act, which has 123 bipartisan sponsors.
For more information on the spending bill, click here.
