State-legal marijuana businesses would be able to be listed on national stock exchanges and access key financial services under a bipartisan congressional bill that was filed on Thursday.
The Capital Lending and Investment for Marijuana Businesses (CLIMB) Act is being sponsored by Reps. Troy Carter (D-LA) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA).
While a main thrust of the legislation is to free up cannabis industry access to financial lending and investment opportunities, in part by providing protections for private financial institutions and government agencies that provide such services to traditional markets, one section stands out as especially novel.
It would provide safe harbor for national securities exchanges and market participants that “have listed, list, or intend to list, or permits the trading, or facilitates the offering, listing, or trading on a national securities exchange, of the securities of a cannabis-related legitimate business or a service provider.”
That’s a wordy way of saying that cannabis businesses would be permitted to list on major stock exchanges like Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It would represent a boon for the burgeoning industry, legitimizing their presence on Wall Street.
EarthyRealist.com 