In the 1930’s, the U.S. government got “tough on crime” during the alcohol Prohibition years by ending Prohibition.
Despite the fact that alcohol is toxic and addictive (and today kills more than 88,000 Americans per year), the massive rise in criminal activity caused by alcohol Prohibition more than offset the health-and-safety benefits.
Today we have cannabis Prohibition. Despite the fact that cannabis is non-toxic, non-addictive and has numerous medicinal and health-promoting properties, it’s still illegal in the U.S. at the federal level.
Cannabis Prohibition has never saved a single life. No one has ever died from a cannabis overdose. All cannabis Prohibition did (and does) is to create crime.
Millions of convictions and incarcerations in the United States. Tens of millions of arrests. Billions of dollars in illegal profits for organized crime. For what?
When it comes to cannabis, there is only one way to be “tough on crime”: by advocating for full cannabis legalization.
It’s simple, obvious logic. Yet apparently not smoking cannabis has addled the brains of most Republican politicians.
It gets worse.
U.S. states are gradually/steadily legalizing cannabis, in spite of Republican obstructionism. Roughly two-thirds of U.S. states (33) have legalized medicinal cannabis or fully legalized cannabis. Roughly the same percentage of Americans support full cannabis legalization.
However, because cannabis remains illegal federally, most U.S. banks are afraid to work with legal cannabis companies, even in cannabis-legal states.
The result? These cash-only businesses are now daily targets for armed robberies in the U.S.
This is yet more crime that is a direct consequence of misguided cannabis Prohibition.
The solution? The SAFE cannabis banking bill (currently before the Senate) would legally authorize U.S. banks to provide financial services for legal cannabis companies. This would cease to make these legal businesses obvious targets for armed robberies.
Armed robberies are more than a mere inconvenience for the legal cannabis industry. People are going to die unless SAFE is passed. But standing directly in the way of SAFE is Senator Mike Crapo (R – ID). Crapo is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
Mike Crapo recently crapped on SAFE.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo delivered a significant blow Wednesday to legislation enabling banks and credit unions to serve the cannabis industry, announcing his opposition to a bill designed to help marijuana businesses in the more than 30 states that have legalized the substance.
“I have significant concerns that the SAFE Banking Act does not address the high level potency of marijuana, marketing tactics to children, lack of research on marijuana’s effects, and the need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system,” Crapo said in a detailed statement about his views on the issue.
“I have significant concerns that the SAFE Banking Act does not address the high level potency of marijuana, marketing tactics to children, lack of research on marijuana’s effects, and the need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system,” Crapo said in a detailed statement about his views on the issue.
Lots of excuses. No reasons.
“High level of potency of marijuana”. As noted above, no one has ever died from a cannabis overdose, regardless of potency.
“Marketing tactics to children”? Legalizing cannabis reduces underage cannabis usage.
“Lack of research on marijuana’s effects”. Yes because of cannabis Prohibition, we’re only just now learning the enormous medicinal uses and health benefits from cannabis. This has no relevance with respect to providing banking services for legal companies.
“The need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system.”
Hilarious. A Republican Senator pretending to be concerned about money-laundering in the United States.
U.S. Big Banks are given “a free pass” by the (so-called) Department of Justice to launder $100’s of billions of dollars every year – for both illegal drug cartels and alleged terrorist organizations.
But here we have Crapo expressing grave concern with respect to the roughly $10 billion per year in legal revenues generated by legal cannabis companies. It’s not merely unconvincing, it’s ludicrous.
Turn a blind eye as Wall Street banks launder $100’s of billions each year in illegal drug profits. But lock-out legal cannabis companies from doing business with U.S. banks.
Exactly what is Mike Crapo’s message here?
To any objective observer, Republican Senator Mike Crapo is hard on cannabis. And Mike Crapo is soft on crime.