Gov. Andy Beshear has joined 15 other governors in calling on Congress to pass the SAFE Banking Act — a bill that would let legal cannabis businesses use banks like every other lawful business.
The governors’ letter, led by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and sent to House and Senate leaders on Monday, says passing the bill would “protect public safety, increase revenues, and improve transparency in our states.” It would protect banks from being punished for providing financial services to marijuana businesses, letting state-sanctioned businesses access core banking services and move their cash-based operations into regulated institutions.
Why it matters: state-sanctioned cannabis businesses largely operate in cash. That means no business loans, no payroll systems, no credit card processing — and it makes them targets for robbery and violent crime, with employees transporting cash, businesses storing large amounts on-site, and customers carrying cash all facing elevated safety risks. States have collected billions of dollars in marijuana tax revenues, yet struggle to deposit those payments and process licensing fees because cannabis proceeds remain federally illegal.
That hits home in Kentucky. Our medical program just passed 30,000 cardholders, with 27 dispensaries open and 47 of 80 approved businesses operating — and every one of them is doing business in a cash-heavy system the federal government still won’t let banks touch.
This isn’t a new idea. Versions of the banking bill have passed the House several times but never been enacted into law. The Senate Banking Committee approved a measure in 2023, but it died at the end of that Congress. Last year, a bipartisan coalition of 32 state and territory attorneys general urged Congress to pass it. A Government Accountability Office report in September found that while no bank has ever been penalized solely for working with the marijuana industry, banks remain reluctant — and “obtaining and maintaining financial services remain difficult” for cannabis businesses.
Banking access would make Kentucky’s legal cannabis businesses safer and easier to run. But it doesn’t finish the job. Kentucky adults still face arrest for the same plant that 30,000 patients can now get legally. The answer is to let voters decide on decriminalization — adults 21 and older able to possess up to one ounce and cultivate, harvest, and store up to five plants for personal use, free of criminal sanction, with the General Assembly regulating production, processing, and sale.
While Congress works on banking, you can see what growing at home is all about — play “Grow Your Own,” our virtual grow tent game, and try raising up to five plants of your own: https://legalizekentucky.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/grow-your-own.html
Sign the petition to put cannabis decriminalization on the Kentucky ballot: https://www.change.org/LetKentuckyVote
And drop your county to show support across all 120 counties: https://legalizekentucky.com/drop-your-county
Source: Marijuana Moment, “16 Governors From Across The U.S. Push Congress To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill”: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/16-governors-from-across-the-u-s-push-congress-to-pass-marijuana-banking-bill/
#LetKentuckyVote #LegalizeKentucky #Kentucky #SAFEBanking #CannabisFreedom #EndProhibition #KYCannabis #PublicSafety
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