U.S. Reps. Troy Carter (D-LA) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) this week introduced the bipartisan Capital Lending and Investment for Marijuana Businesses (CLIMB) Act, which aims to give state-legal cannabis companies access to the lending and investment opportunities available to other industries.
Most financial institutions are currently unwilling to serve the industry, as cannabis remains a federally prohibited, Schedule I substance.
But the CLIMB Act would establish protections for private lenders to provide loans and for government agencies, like the Small Business Administration (SBA), or the Minority Business Development Association (MBDA), to provide grants to state-licensed cannabis companies.
“This legislation is an opportunity to bring equity and equal opportunity into our nation’s growing cannabis industry,” Rep. Carter said in a press release.
“By working directly with small, minority, and veteran-owned cannabis businesses, it’s clear that access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers to entry and to success in the industry. By bringing symmetry into the business ecosystem with the CLIMB Act, we can help communities that have long been harmed by the criminalization of marijuana become leaders in business – and that’s what the American Dream is all about.” — Carter, in a statement
Saphira Galoob, CEO of US Cannabis Roundtable, said the bill would “help unleash the full potential of the American cannabis industry,” and ensure that “American cannabis businesses, workers, and investors have the same opportunities and access to financial services as foreign competitors.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump issued an executive order last December directing federal agencies to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Officials, however, have so far failed to follow through on the order.
Federal agencies first initiated the rescheduling process in 2024 under then-President Joe Biden.
