The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is organizing focus groups with marijuana businesses to better assess their challenges in accessing banking services under federal prohibition.
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Following the collapse of bipartisan cannabis banking legislation this session, GAO has launched a survey in preparation for virtual focus groups scheduled for January or February 2025.
This initiative appears to respond to a request from Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and John Fetterman (D-PA). Last December, they urged Comptroller General Gene Dodaro to study the economic impacts of the War on Drugs and examine how financial institutions might help address those effects.
The senators requested GAO to explore six key areas, including whether granting banks access to serve state-legal cannabis businesses could reduce economic disparities caused by drug policies and whether such legislation might help close the racial wealth gap. They also asked GAO to assess:
The economic impacts of prosecuting cannabis-related offenses, including collateral consequences of arrests and incarceration.
Variations in these effects based on race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
The extent to which affected communities have recovered from economic harm caused by drug policies.
The impact of cannabis legalization on mitigating economic disparities.
In response, GAO has circulated a survey aimed at forming focus groups. The survey asks cannabis businesses about their operations, number of employees, and experiences with banking services. It also invites participants to provide additional insights.
“GAO plans to compile and analyze data from these focus groups,” the agency stated. “For example, findings may reveal whether cannabis businesses face high fees for loans from financial institutions.”
An agency spokesperson confirmed GAO is consulting federal officials, banking associations, and cannabis industry groups. They are also reviewing federal policies and academic studies.
GAO has reached out to the National Cannabis Industry Association, which is helping distribute the survey to its members.
Senator Warnock, who led the initial request, is the only Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee to oppose the SAFER Banking Act in September 2023. He argued the bill lacked provisions for social equity and criminal justice reforms tied to prohibition.
Warnock previously proposed a GAO study on the racial wealth gap and minority-owned cannabis businesses before and after the SAFER Banking Act. However, this amendment was not considered.
In their letter, Warnock and his colleagues emphasized the role financial institutions could play in addressing economic harm caused by the War on Drugs. They expressed hope for a timely response to this pressing issue.
Meanwhile, efforts to advance the SAFER Banking Act have stalled. Republican leaders reportedly blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s attempt to attach the bill to a year-end funding package.
Senators Warren and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) expressed doubts about Republican support for the measure, while Warren criticized former President Donald Trump for failing to advance cannabis reforms during his tenure, despite his recent endorsement of marijuana banking reforms.
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) stated the main hurdle is a lack of Republican backing and called on Trump to rally GOP senators if he genuinely supports the reforms.
Retiring Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, urged the House to prioritize the bill following Trump’s endorsement and recently surfaced audio of former President Richard Nixon admitting cannabis is “not particularly dangerous.” Blumenauer emphasized the need for policies benefiting veterans, law enforcement, and small businesses.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), however, has historically opposed cannabis reforms, including incremental measures like banking protections and research expansions.
In September, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that federally insuring deposits from cannabis businesses could increase by billions of dollars if banks gain protections to serve the industry.
As focus groups prepare to examine these banking challenges, the debate over cannabis policy reform continues to unfold, with economic equity and public safety remaining central issues.
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