Bird in the Hand

Lawmakers eye Operation Choke Point.

Daily Recap

Republicans are gearing up to revive a push for federal “fair access” regulations that would prescribe when banks can decline to serve select customers.

Key players in the crypto industry and across Silicon Valley helped revive the issue and have uncovered fresh bipartisan interest. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said last week on “The Joe Rogan Experience” that cannabis and tech founders have been cut off from banking services due to Obama-era regulations and Biden appointees.

The issue caught the eye of lawmakers on Capitol Hill and advisers to President-elect Donald Trump, including Elon Musk, raising the prospect that it will be a priority.

“I don’t see how this doesn’t get addressed right away, as literally a January priority, not a 100 days priority,” said Brian Brooks, who spearheaded the attempt to enact a fair access rule while serving as Comptroller of the Currency during the first Trump term.

Ironically, Sec. 10 of The SAFER Banking Act would specifically gut Operation Choke Point, so moving that bill in the Lame Duck would thrill two birds with one stone(d).

Vujà Dé

Sen. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) late push to get landmark cannabis legislation passed this year “looks doomed,” sources tell Axios. The marijuana bill has bipartisan support but some GOP leaders, they say, remain opposed to the legislation.

In 2022, some will recall, Axios scooped that the Senate had a pro-pot move planned for that lame-duck, which turned out to be a rug-pull for the ages.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), an ally of GOP leadership, is a co-sponsor of the current bill, and Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who claims to support the issue, told Axios that he will continue to push for the bill's passage by the end of the year.

Boies in the Hood

A case heading for oral argument in a federal appeals court tomorrow will challenge the government’s authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act’s application to economic activity of licensees and registrants who comply with state canna laws.

Prior to this appeal, a federal district court judge granted the federal government’s motion to dismiss, relying on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 opinion, Gonzales v. Raich (Raich), per Marijuana Moment.

If the First Circuit reverses the lower court’s decision, it could limit the authority of Congress to regulate state-legalized canna activity. If the panel affirms the district court’s decision, it would strengthen the federal government’s case—and potentially set the stage for a Supreme Court showdown as early as this Summer.

DEA’d on Arrival

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the DEA withdrew from consideration Tuesday. The Florida sheriff had strongly advocated for marijuana decriminalization, calling it the “right thing to do” as “society is evolving” and argued that criminalization under the war on drugs “didn’t work.”

Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister bowed out from consideration just days after Trump announced his nomination amid scrutiny from conservative lawmakers over his record on COVID-related public safety enforcement actions.

Stocks & Stuff

The bloodletting continued in Cannaland as shitty charts, faltering fundies and tax loss selling—coupled with an inability to bank, custody, or even deduct operating expenses—left the bears in control as they set their sights on the post-election all-time lows.

U.S. cannabis ETF MSOS lost 4.5%, or 41% YTD, as chants of “dead money” echo in the rafters as the rest of the street makes bank. It’s fun, no really; a legitimate blast.

Below, we’ll dig deeper on the pathways and processes that’ll shape year-end.

All that and more, just scroll down.

SPY 0.00%↑ QQQ 0.00%↑ IWM 0.00%↑ MSOS 0.00%↑ ETF Notional: $57M

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