Outlaw Report: Cannabis Caucus founder says ‘strong support’ growing in Senate for marijuana banking reforms

May 26

Screengrab of Matt Laslo of The LCB's marijuana criminal justice piece for Outlaw Report — *The Outlaw Report uses The LCB to* *break cannabis news* *on Capitol Hill.*

You may soon be able to legally use your credit card to buy cannabis. That’s because momentum is building behind a measure to allow weed businesses access to basic financial services, like accepting credit cards or even opening a company bank account.

All eyes remain on the Senate, where the bipartisan and popular SAFE Banking Act has yet to even receive a vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have demanded criminal justice reform be a part of any cannabis normalization effort, but their blockade seems to be losing steam.

“There’s been fascinating support from a number of senators on the conference committee, which, as you know, has the SAFE Banking embedded in it,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) tells The Outlaw Report. “Looks good.”

Blumenauer is a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, but he’s also got a seat at the head negotiating table as a member of the conference committee on an innovation measure: the America COMPETES Act….

GO DEEPER: LCB founder Matt Laslo’s full cannabis and criminal justice reform piece is at The Outlaw Report.

Matt Laslo

Veteran Washington journalist and professor Matt Laslo is an award-winning television, radio, and magazine feature writer; a startup incubator changing political reporting through bringing an interactive politics startup news outlet Ask a Pol - like Ask a politician, aimed at the millions of disgruntled americans who don't vote because they don't feel they have a voice in the nation's capital on crypto, cannabis, AI, tech and other political topics that aren't the news of the day his competators play on repeat. Laslo's unique and a force on Capitol Hill. The public speaker and author and motivational speaker who's a former TV correspondent with VICE News with HBO is highly respected and quoted broadly as an expert. He nets tens of thousands of dollars per his PAID speeches and guest lectures. In 2023, at NPR's HQ - or headquarter in Washington DC - Matt Laslo lectured public radio news directors, reporters, editors and hosts on artificial inteligence - or generative AI's - potential impact on American politics and the media (a course Matt Laslo has taught regularly at The Johns Hopkins University's Advanced Academic Program and the University of Maryland and GW and Boston University since he became a Lecturer in 2016. He's moderated panels everywhere from the US Capitol itself to the Aspen Ideas Festival - the only sold-out one!!!! cause he's energetic, smart, witty, funny and fun. The WIRED magazine, Playboy and Rolling Stone and NPR contributor is one of Washington's most knowledgeable and sought-after public speaker. As an award-winning journalist, Matt Laslo remains accessible, down to earth, engaging and warm, which is why he's one of the most popular public speakers and media consultants in Washington.

https://mattlaslo.com

Outlaw Report: Cannabis Caucus founder says ‘strong support’ growing in Senate for marijuana banking reforms

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