In terms of federal policy advancement and reform, we saw the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act pass the House of Representatives for the fifth time, and actually be included in more sweeping legislation indicative of the fact that cannabis policy issues are not relegated to second-class status in terms of policy debate. Yet, it once again, stalled in the U.S. Senate for a variety of reasons that highlight the differentiated policy approaches to cannabis embraced by republicans and democrats. The SAFE Banking Act does indeed have a chance in 2022, so long as it happens before the full onslaught of midterm election campaigning begins. It may already be too late.      

We also saw influential D.C. politicians carve out their piece of the federal cannabis reform pie with the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act; the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity (CAOA) Act; and, Nancy Mace’s Republican cannabis reform bill. While all these bills were effectively dead-on-arrival, the fact that both sides of the aisle are staking claim to issues of import in the cannabis reform debate is not only encouraging, it is significant. Cannabis leadership from the White House is what’s needed to see movement. Given the aforementioned midterm elections, it’s unlikely this will happen in 2022.