Last Thursday, a bill was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives that would enable marijuana businesses to apply for coronavirus relief programs.

The Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health and Safety Act was introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and has been co-sponsored by fourteen members of the House, including Colorado representatives Ed Perlmutter (D), Jason Crow (D), Joe Neguse (D), and Diana DeGette (D).

Although cannabis businesses have been deemed essential in legal states, the federal government’s prohibition on marijuana means that marijuana businesses are not eligible for federal aid.

The bill would enable cannabis companies to have the same access to federal money through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loans.

However, there’s not much chance of the bill passing in the Senate without being part of a larger Coronavirus relief package. The good news is that there does appear to be bipartisan support for including marijuana businesses in the next coronavirus stimulus bill.

On April 17, a bipartisan group of 34 members of Congress sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) urging them to allow cannabis businesses to access federal disaster relief.

“Workers at state-legal cannabis businesses are no different from workers at any other small business — they show up to work every day, perform their duties, and most importantly, work to provide for their families,” lawmakers said in the letter. “This lack of access will undoubtedly lead to unnecessary layoffs, reduced hours, pay cuts, and furloughs for the workers of cannabis businesses who need support the most.

“The state-legal cannabis industry is a major contributor to the U.S. economy and workforce, employing over 240,000 workers across 33 states and four territories, and generating $1.9 billion in state and local taxes in 2019,” lawmakers wrote. “State-legal cannabis businesses need access to CARES Act programs to ensure they have the financial capacity to undertake the public health and worker-focused measures experts are urging businesses to take.”

On Monday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) announced a “Roadmap to Cannabis Banking & Financial Services” aimed at increasing access to banking for the state’s marijuana and hemp industries. Polis announced the plan in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).

“As the first state to establish a legal marijuana industry and one of the first to implement an industrial hemp program, Colorado has become a national economic leader in the cannabis industry,” said Governor Jared Polis in a press release. “We are excited to release a bold, forward-thinking roadmap to provide much-needed guidance, clarity and support to state-chartered financial service providers that work with or are interested in working with the state-legal cannabis industry.”

The plan includes “seven primary areas of focus,” including:

Cannabis is legal in eleven states plus Washington, D.C., but both state and federal laws aimed at providing guidance and protection for the financial industry haven’t made much headway. The House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act last year with bipartisan support, but it’s unclear when or if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will bring it to the floor for a vote.

“The lack of federal clarity creates a level of uncertainty and apprehension for our Colorado state-chartered banks and credit unions to provide basic financial services to legal cannabis-related businesses,” said DORA Executive Director Patty Salazar. “This roadmap is designed to lay out a path whereby our state-chartered financial institutions can explore whether or not they are in a position to provide services to this industry.”

Limited or no access to banking services means that many cannabis businesses, especially those that touch the plant, operate entirely in cash.

“Unbanked cannabis businesses often operate solely in cash, creating a significant risk to public safety,” said Treasurer Dave Young. ”By providing essential banking services to cannabis businesses, Colorado can lead the way in protecting public safety and promoting financial transparency.”

Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Lakewood), who was the lead sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act joined Gov. Polis at the announcement of the roadmap.

“Too many Colorado businesses, employees and communities have been targets of assault, robbery and other crimes due to the conflict between state and federal law when it comes to cannabis banking. I appreciate Governor Polis and his team working to improve access to the financial industry for Colorado cannabis and cannabis-related businesses. However, it is critical that Congress acts, including by advancing the SAFE Banking Act. Only by aligning state and federal law can we fully resolve the issues necessary to get cash off our streets and improve public safety in our communities,” said Perlmutter.

This week the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released draft rules for hemp regulation. There will be a 60-day public comment period before the rules are finalized.

“At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we hope the ability to grow hemp will pave the way for new products and markets,” said Secretary Perdue in a press release. “We have had teams operating with all-hands-on-deck to develop a regulatory framework that meets Congressional intent while seeking to provide a fair, consistent, and science-based process for states, tribes, and individual producers who want to participate in this program.”

The USDA drafted the regulations as a result of the 2018 Farm Bill that descheduled and legalized hemp. Under the draft rules, the THC content must be under 0.3%, and any hemp found to exceed that amount would be destroyed. Other key elements of the new regulations include:

States and American Indian tribes will have some say in setting their own hemp regulations (as long as they don’t violate USDA guidelines), and the USDA must evaluate these plans within 60 days of submission. In states where hemp production is illegal, such as South Dakota, farmers will not be able to cultivate hemp unless state law changes.

Not everyone is happy with the proposed rules. Hemp farmers say that the USDA regulations will make producing high-quality CBD impossible.

“We’re going to be forced, if we want to continue farming CBD, to be harvesting in week four to week six of flower time, where we’re typically not starting our harvest until seven or eight,” Phoenix-based hemp farmer Adam Harris told KTVL News10.

Hemp farmers say that the window between testing, receiving results, and harvesting is too narrow and will hurt the quality of their harvest.

“Most scientific research to date is indicating that the most medicinal benefits are with that full-spectrum CBD. These new USDA regulations make it so we can’t even take in the harvested material to take in those full-spectrum extracts the way that we have been,” said Mitra Sticklen of Om Farms LLC, a hemp company based in Jacksonville.

The Senate passed the 2018 Farm Bill 87-13 on Tuesday, a huge step towards legalizing hemp cultivation. The bill would remove industrial hemp from the federal government’s list of controlled substances and categorize it as an agricultural product. The bill would also allow CBD and other cannabinoid extraction.

The Hemp Farming Act was originally introduced by Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden before being included in the 2018 Farm Bill by Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Not only will farmers be able to grow, sell and export industrial hemp, it will also make it easier for researchers who want to study hemp oil products, CBD, and other cannabinoids. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will oversee hemp production, but states will be in charge of regulating and testing industrial hemp.

Any CBD extracted from hemp must be below 0.3 percent THC. Hemp producers whose plants exceed the THC threshold will not be subject to drug charges, but they must submit a plan to correct the “hot” hemp.

Legalizing hemp will open the door for banking, advertising, and insurance, access to which has long been a hurdle in the cannabis industry.

Other key elements of the bill include:

The bill will need to pass in the House and be signed by President Trump before it becomes law.