Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) isn’t happy with new anti-cannabis guidance from the federal Small Business Administration (SBA). In a recent letter addressed to SBA head Linda McMahon, Rep. Blumenauer decried a new policy that restricts federal loans to businesses working within or with clients in the legal marijuana industry, calling on the agency to revoke the new rule immediately.
As recounted by Green Market Report, Rep. Blumenauer’s letter describes the vast array of small businesses that have now lost an important avenue for financing, as the new SBA policy restricts not only loans to legal cannabis and hemp businesses, but also any company that even interacts with America’s green rush, including real estate firms, contractors, and more.
“SBA’s new guidance will mean that countless small businesses including architecture firms, accountants, garden supply businesses, and construction companies across the country will be put at a competitive disadvantage if just one of their clients or customers are part of the burgeoning cannabis industry — an industry that was in many states created by voter ballot initiatives,” wrote Blumenauer in his letter. “While I believe that cannabis industry businesses should be treated the same as all other businesses, at the very least, ancillary businesses should not be penalized for supporting a business that is legal in their state.”