During my own quixotic run for the U.S. Congress back in 2008, I was able to spend a bit of time with then-Congressman Ed Perlmutter. He was a very nice fellow and seemed to me to be driven to do good. He had an intensity that was admirable. After 18 years serving the folks in his district, Perlmutter retired this year, but he apparently didn’t stop working on behalf of the people of Colorado, in that one of his first bills introduced has now, finally, been passed by a Senate committee – a major first victory. And it’s one of those bills you likely never heard of and likely won’t directly impact your daily life, but one that makes Colorado a better and safer place. And as part of my ongoing effort to expose important minutia to my dear readers, let’s dive in, shall we?

So, what was the subject of this bill that is finally moving forward? Banking rules for marijuana sales. Sounds boring, right? But it is an important piece of legislation, and hopefully it will move forward and be signed by President Joe Biden.

As reported in Colorado Politics, the SAFER Banking Act (full name: Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act) would do a very basic but very important thing: allow marijuana businesses to use the federally regulated banking system. And the even more good news is this bill has bipartisan support, so it has a shot. In previous years, Perlmutter’s bill got through the House, only to die in the Senate. So, a Senate committee passing the bill onto the floor is a big deal.

You may recall when Colorado legalized recreational pot (does calling it “pot” make me old? I hear the kids today call it “weed”) there was a problem with the money. Legally, pot was (and still is, hopefully for not too much longer) a “Schedule I drug,” meaning, according to the feds, it “offers no currently accepted medical use and (has) a high potential for abuse.” As more and more evidence of the effectiveness of marijuana in PTSD and other illnesses arises, that Schedule I ranking makes little to no sense. I’d love to see President Biden initiate the process to de-list it, but I digress.

That said, because of the Schedule I status no business dealing with marijuana could legally use the federally regulated banking system. Most “normal” businesses deposit their daily take into a commercial bank account (I still remember, 45 years ago, taking bags of McDonalds cash to the nearby bank to deposit).

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But if you can’t use a bank, what can you do? Well, the pot business in Colorado became an entirely cash-only operation. You paid in cash, and your cash was stored by the pot shop for use in purchases and other business expenses.

As you can imagine, knowing that certain locations had piles of cash sitting around made such businesses the targets of lots of robberies. I know a fellow who, during the early days of pot shops, was an armed cash courier, picking up bags of cash from pot shops and taking it to other businesses. That is both dangerous and inefficient.

As Perlmutter and others noted, as the people of Colorado voted to make marijuana legal, it only makes sense for businesses involved in that trade be able to use the banks. But Schedule I and the ramifications of that listing always prevented common sense from being implemented, and big piles of cash continue to be targets for bad guys.

Now, I admit I’m a rather dull fellow. I’ve never been drunk, and I’ve never smoked pot. But I have absolutely no objection to other adults imbibing when safe and legal. And as a former military cop, I can attest to the fact I’d rather deal with 10 people who are high on pot than with one drunk. Given that the good people of our state decided to make pot legal for adults and within certain limits (e.g., no driving while high), it made absolutely no sense to keep that legal business out of the banking system. So, common sense appears to be, finally, catching up with marijuana laws. Thanks, Ed!

Ed Perlmutter is to be commended. Even out of office, he is still working on getting the SAFE Banking Act passed. He is now working with both Dems and Republicans to get the bill through the Senate and on to Biden’s desk. All too often you see former representatives leaping onto corporate boards or otherwise grabbing for cash in ways that often trade on their status as former elected officials. So, huzzah for Perlmutter, who clearly still believes in the value of a bill he introduced years ago. And with a bit of good luck, hopefully we’ll see the SAFE Banking Act signed into law this session.

And that’s a good thing for all Coloradans.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.