It seems like every time the cannabis industry takes a step towards legitimacy, political inaction is ready to take the industry backwards.
Last month, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act by a 14-9 vote.
Related: Why small cannabis businesses are at risk if SAFER banking bill passes
"Cannabis banking is just one part of the necessary conversation about marijuana policy," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
"Regardless of how you feel about states’ efforts to legalize marijuana, this bipartisan bill is necessary – it will make it safer for legal cannabis businesses and service providers to operate in their communities and protect their workers."
The vote marked a potential watershed moment for the pro-marijuana movement, but the political realities of getting such a controversial bill passed by Congress is becoming more apparent as the days and weeks march on.
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A Canvass Capitol Hill survey of congressional staffers conducted between Sept. 5 - 22 revealed that a miniscule number expected the SAFER Banking Act to be passed anytime soon.
Just 13% of respondents said they expect it to pass in the first half of the current two-year Congressional term. While staffers for Democratic offices were twice as optimistic as their Republican counterparts, just 18% said that they expect the bill to be enacted by the end of 2023, Punchbowl News reported.
Out of the 11 issues that were apart of the survey, only prescription drug pricing and the Credit Card Competition Act were seen as having a lower chance of passing this year.
The bill has been attacked from both sides of the aisle despite its bipartisan support.
Opposition to the SAFER bill from the left of the political aisle comes from the idea that the underprivileged will be excluded from any of the benefits of marijuana businesses having broader access to the banking industry.
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