Cowen analyst sees fresh signs of a potential SAFE Banking cannabis bill

Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg on Thursday said leadership in both the U.S. Senate and the House are for the first time working on a cannabis package based on the SAFE Banking measure to speed up financial transactions. With many legal cannabis companies still facing banking hurdles such as being forced to transact in cash, Cowen analysts now feel “cautious optimism” that Congress could pass the cannabis banking bill during the lame duck session after the election. If Democrats manage to sweep the House and Senate in November, however, it’s likely that progressives in the party may push for a broader bill in 2023, analysts said. It’s also possible that an unexpected macro crisis could push cannabis out of the legislative picture. Versions of the SAFE Banking measure have passed the U.S. House seven times, but never the Senate. The Cannabis ETF THCX, +2.19% is down 59.3% so far in 2022, while the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF MSOS, -0.22% is down about 56% this year. The Nasdaq COMP, -0.55% has lost 25.8% in 2022.