Forget the SAFE Act, which was rejected for the 6th time on June 23, here is the CLIMB Act.
the Capital Lending and Investment for Marijuana Businesses (CLIMB) Act, sponsored by Democratic Representatives Troy Carter and Republican Guy Reschenthaler, wants to make it easier for the cannabis industry to access banking, in part by providing protections for private financial institutions and government agencies that provide such services. services to traditional markets.
It also provides, and this is new, a “safe harbor” for national stock exchanges and market participants who “have listed, are listing or intend to list, or permit trading, or facilitate the offering, listing or trading on a national stock exchange of the securities of a legitimate cannabis-related business or service provider”.
In short, cannabis companies would be allowed to list on major stock exchanges like the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The only cannabis companies today listed on the stock exchange in the United States are companies that do not directly touch the plant on federal soil like Weedmaps.
The bill more broadly states that no federal agency would be authorized to penalize any business or government authority for “receiving funding, credits, grants, contracts, or other forms of monetary or non-monetary assistance.” government authority, or for marketing, offering, or selling a security, banking, insurance, or other financial service product” simply because the business or individual “provides business assistance to a business or a provider of legitimate cannabis-related services”.
So, for example, the bill would theoretically protect an agency like the Federal Small Business Administration (SBA) from being penalized by another agency (e.g. the Department of Justice) for providing its services to businesses in legal cannabis. However, it in no way compels the SBA to provide such services to the industry.
For now, the future of CLIMB law is as clear as a Roor tip after a J of dry siftthe bill should initially garner enough support in Congress.
The full text of the bill can be viewed here.
