A coalition of marijuana trade organizations and credit unions are calling on Congress to provide cannabis businesses with access to federal coronavirus relief.
In a letter to congressional leaders on Tuesday, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH), Policy Center for Public Health and Safety and 28 partnering groups and financial institutions noted that the marijuana industry and ancillary businesses that work with state-legal cannabis markets are specifically excluded from loans and lending programs provided for under several packages of COVID-19 legislation that have been approved.
To that end, the coalition made two recommendations: 1) issue pandemic relief block grants for states to decide on their own how to allocate the funds or 2) amend current federal coronavirus aid eligibility requirements to allow cannabis businesses to get funds that are available to other companies.
States where cannabis is legal for medical or recreational purposes have broadly classified marijuana businesses as essential, meaning they are allowed to continue to operate amid the health crisis. Massachusetts is an exception, as it only allows medical cannabis facilities to stay open while adult-use shops have been shuttered.