Twenty-Four State-Level Cannabis Trade Associations and Four Financial Institutions Ask Congress to Include the Cannabis Industry in Next Congressional Coronavirus Relief Package
For Immediate Release: April 28, 2020
Contact:
Monica McCafferty
303.903.3394
Twenty-Four State-Level Cannabis Trade Associations and Four Financial Institutions Ask Congress to Include the Cannabis Industry in Next Congressional Coronavirus Relief Package
Washington, D.C. — In a letter authored by the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp and Policy Center for Public Health and Safety, 24 state-level cannabis trade associations from across the country, are calling on Congress to end the inequitable practice of the Small Business Administration’s exclusion of cannabis businesses from COVID-19 federal funding.
The letter is also signed by four financial institutions that offer services to cannabis businesses in state regulated markets.
“Today’s cannabis industry is a mature one, employing nearly 300,000 workers nationwide in direct and indirect jobs,” said ATACH President Michael Bronstein. “The industry is a job creator, and enjoys bipartisan public support, but without federal funding eligibility to help offset emergency costs related to COVID on top of already extensive state and federal taxes, many cannabis employers and ancillary companies will have no option but to cut jobs or cease to operate.”
“We think Congress should explore funding options like authorizing fixed block grants to each state for non-specific pandemic relief so states with medical or adult-use cannabis programs could direct monies to support the cannabis industry, meanwhile, non-legal states could direct those monies to other essential industries,” said Fred Niehaus, Chairman of the Policy Center for Public Health and Safety. “These are the conversations we’re hoping to jump start with positive outcomes for cannabis companies, states and municipalities depending on tax revenue, and the ancillary businesses that support them as this is when decreases in tax revenues will hit home in many states.”
“Partner Colorado Credit Union provides banking services to over 500 cannabis-related companies. Nearly every cannabis client has reached out to us for federal loans. Our hands are tied until Congress acts,” said Sundie Seefried, Partner Colorado Credit Union CEO.
This national grassroots call-to-action is aimed at the next congressional relief package lawmakers are considering.
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About ATACH: The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp is a 501(c)(6) trade organization founded in 2014 by industry leaders to promote the expansion and protection of legal sales of cannabis and hemp for industrial, medical, and recreational use. ATACH has subsequently been named “Trade Association of the Year” and “Corporate Grassroots Organization of the Year” by Campaigns & Elections magazine for its representation of the leading national industry players, its role in state level legalization campaigns, and historic memorandum of understanding with ASTM International to develop standards for the cannabis industry. ATACH’s National Council of State Organizations is a coalition of the leading state-level permit holder organizations that work together to promote, protect, and expand, the cannabis industry by providing credible representation to the cannabis industry.
About the Policy Center for Public Health and Safety: The Policy Center for Public Health & Safety is a 501(c)4 founded to facilitate constructive dialogue on state-legalized cannabis issues among state, federal, and international regulators. The organization’s primary focus is on anti-money laundering, public health & safety, consumer protection, and rule-of-law.
