Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) and Cory Gardner (R, CO) proposed a bipartisan bill late last week that would grant states the upper hand in the continuing debate between state governments and the federal government. As reported by the Denver Post, the bill would afford states where cannabis has been legalized the ability use banks and other financial institutions. With cannabis still being illegal on the federal level, all plant-touching businesses, even within states where it is legal, are forced to do business on a strictly cash basis.

As we discussed earlier this month, California has proposed a novel solution to this dilemma in the face of limited-charter banks. Were this Gardner-Warren bill to be passed, California, other states, and the cannabis industry at-large would have a much clearer path for banking, surely a beacon of ease in an already complex industry. Beyond that, PTB’s would no longer have to keep such large amounts of cash on hard, which as we’ve covered is an inherent security risk in an industry that doesn’t need such extra risks. As Warren commented during her and Gardner’s appearance on Morning Joe, “That forces a multibillion industry to operate all in cash. That’s bad for business and bad for safety.”

Not for nothing, in addition to the obvious benefits to the plant-touching industry in legal states, the bipartisan measure represents yet another symbolic gesture towards the erosion of Draconian and dated views on cannabis. This spring alone has seen previously stalwart opponents of legalization such as John Boehner  (R, OH)and Dianne Feinstein (D, CA) endorse cannabis. Additionally, the federal government has also allocated an approximate $1.5 million in helping California authorities cut down on illegal grow operations on public lands in the Golden State.

“It’s time that we take this industry out of the shadows,” said Gardner on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. You can watch the entire appearance by senators Elizabeth Warren and Corey Gardner below: