Marijuana Business Leaders Not Optimistic Rescheduling Will Happen This Year, Despite 97% Saying It’s ‘Important’ To Their Viability, Poll Shows

Marijuana business leaders are not optimistic that federal rescheduling
will happen this year—though 97 percent said the reform and the resulting
federal tax relief are “important” to their “long-term viability”—according
to a new poll.

Shield Compliance, which provides compliance management solutions for banks
serving the legal cannabis industry, released the results of its 2025
Financial Services Survey on Wednesday, highlighting the “banking
experiences and priorities” of state-licensed marijuana businesses.

Notably, the poll asked about the pending federal marijuana
reclassification proposal to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III
of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that President Donald Trump recently
said his administration will decide on imminently.

When asked to rate the prospects that rescheduling would be achieved this
year on a scale from 0 to 100, the average response was just 34.

That’s in spite of the fact that the vast majority of respondents (about 97
percent) said that rescheduling—and the resulting federal tax relief—say
the reforms are “important” to the “long-term viability” of their
businesses.

That includes 61 percent who described them as “extremely important.”

The survey also showed that, while many marijuana businesses have struggled
to access financial services under federal prohibition, most of those that
have are evidently satisfied with their current providers, with more than
80 percent reporting satisfaction with their customer service and over 70
percent saying they’re content with compliance requirements.

Through there is that level of satisfaction, the poll, which had 142
respondents, also found that more than 60 percent of cannabis operators are
eager for innovation around payment solutions. And almost 30 percent said
they’re considering switching financial institutions next year to obtain
access to credit.

“The survey results highlight a paradox in cannabis banking,” Tony
Repanich, president and CEO of Shield Compliance, said in a press release.
“Operators value their banking relationships yet demand for credit access
and payments innovation underscores significant opportunities for financial
institutions ready to lean in, particularly as the creditworthiness of
operators improves with market consolidation and regulatory reform.”

But the broader issue of banking challenges in the marijuana industry
persists. And while rescheduling would mean that the sector would no longer
be prohibited from taking federal tax deductions under an Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) code known as 280E, that wouldn’t resolve the underlying
banking issue.

To that end, a bipartisan coalition of 32 state and territory attorneys
general from across the U.S. recently called on Congress to pass a
marijuana banking bill to free up financial services access for licensed
cannabis businesses.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Senate sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement
Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act recently said that, despite efforts to
coordinate meetings around the legislation, other priorities have taken
precedence for now.

Asked about recent comments Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)—the lead GOP sponsor
of the SAFER Banking Act this session who told Marijuana Moment that he
doesn’t expect the bill to come up until this fall—Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
said, “Hopefully sooner than later in my mind.”

In January, the office of Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), who is again leading the
effort on the House said, told Marijuana Moment that he would be filing the cannabis
banking legislation this session but that its introduction was “not
imminent” as some earlier reports had suggested.


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A leading anti-marijuana group recently sounded the alarm about a possible
attempt to put the cannabis banking measure in a cryptocurrency bill that
was advancing on the Senate floor, but that didn’t come to fruition.

With Republicans in control of both chambers and key leadership positions
filled by opponents of marijuana legalization, it’s been an open question
about whether any cannabis reform legislation stands a chance of passage in
the short-term. That’s despite the fact that Trump endorsed marijuana
industry banking access, rescheduling and a Florida legalization initiative
on the campaign trail.

On the House side, a Republican lawmaker said in March he’s hopeful that
Congress will be able to get a marijuana banking bill across “the finish
line” this session, arguing that the current barriers to financial services
for the industry represent a “second tier” of prohibition.

Cannabis industry banking challenges came up in several congressional
hearings in March, including a Senate Banking Committee meeting on debanking where
senators on both sides of the aisle addressed the lack of financial
services access for marijuana businesses.

Meanwhile, in January congressional researchers released a report detailing
the subject of debanking—while making a point to address how the marijuana
industry’s financial services access problem “sits at the nexus” of a
state-federal policy conflict that complicates the debate.

Separately, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced in
December that it’s convening focus groups comprised of marijuana businesses to
better understand their experiences with access to banking services under
federal prohibition.

The post Marijuana Business Leaders Not Optimistic Rescheduling Will Happen
This Year, Despite 97% Saying It’s ‘Important’ To Their Viability, Poll
Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment.