U.S. Congressman Darren Soto joins us to discuss the passing of bills, such as the SAFE Banking Act that just recently passed in the House. As well, Soto tells us about some environmental bills and bills related to disaster recovery that are in the works. Because Congress is so divided, it has been extremely difficult to improve certain laws — while passing bills in the House is usually doable, passing them in the Senate is much more trying. Despite this frustrating process, Soto does, in fact, believe that the SAFE Banking Act has a good chance of making it through the Senate during this upcoming election year. Soto strongly believes that the lack of safe banking for cannabis businesses is actively hurting everyday Americans: “If we’re trying to legalize and normalize this industry, making it all cash is the exact opposite of that.” Additionally, Soto discusses the necessity of taking care of our veterans, which includes being able to prescribe them medical cannabis.
Seth Adler: U.S. Congressman Darren Soto joins us. Welcome to Cannabis Economy. I'm your host Seth Adler. Download episodes on canneconomy.com. That's two N's and the word economy or wherever you currently get your podcasts. Got a ton of direct insight over at canneconomy.com from business, science and policy leaders, so go there for that and listen to this from KannaSwiss and then U.S. Congressman Darren Soto.
Seth Adler: KannaSwiss has built a team of experts focused on quality and care above all else. Customers are partners on the path to greater health and the KannaSwiss team is dedicated to providing top of the line hemp products.
Seth Adler: The entire KannaSwiss offering is created from organic cannabis from the Swiss Highlands, ecologically farmed, lab processed and purified in their own facilities, which adhere to the strictest safety and quality standards, all while utilizing the latest in pharmaceutical science and equipment. Working out of their brand new facility in Kolliken, Switzerland, KannaSwiss uses the most advanced indoor growth science known to date and they're constantly working to push the boundaries of cultivation knowledge forward. KannaSwiss already has partners all over the globe. Go to kannaswiss.com to learn more.
Darren Soto: I had a half of a protein bar, but then I had some fruit and some turkey bacon.
Seth Adler: I feel like that's not a well balanced breakfast. I mean-
Darren Soto: I skipped the cinnamon buns.
Seth Adler: That's good.
Darren Soto: But Aunt Nancy had one.
Seth Adler: Aunt Nancy.
Darren Soto: Which was a big deal at the [crosstalk 00:01:44].
Seth Adler: Is your Aunt Nancy?
Darren Soto: No, the Speaker.
Seth Adler: Oh, and you call her Aunt Nancy?
Darren Soto: It's kind of an endearing term. She's so sweet.
Seth Adler: She she picked you out. I mean, she said, I see Darren Soto and I raise myself, Darren Soto, essentially.
Darren Soto: She said some nice things. I don't know if it ever went that far.
Seth Adler: She gave you a good-
Darren Soto: She appointed me to the Steering and Policy committee. I was one of her two appointments last term and reappointed me this term. Well, always, when she comes to my district says I'm low maintenance and easy to work with and every now and again have a good idea, so I'll take those as the highest compliments.
Seth Adler: Yeah, no, without question. Every once in awhile I'll have a good idea. Check the box. Low maintenance. Definitely. That's what I strive to be.
Darren Soto: That is a rare quality apparently around here in Washington.
Seth Adler: The most rare quality though is the middle one that you mentioned, which is easy to work with.
Darren Soto: Yeah.
Seth Adler: How many other people do you know that are easy to work ... Well for you, probably everybody's easy to work with.
Darren Soto: Well not everyone, but I'll tell you a lot of folks, if they had a lot of life experience or a lot of government experience, you get to a point where you realize you got to work with everybody. If you're newer to government in general, it becomes harder. But think about it. You just got your clock cleaned by the Republicans or by the Democrats.
Become a member to access to webinars, quarterly reports, contributor columns, shows, excerpts, and complete podcast transcripts