A recent Politico article has led to a bit of head scratching among the American people, particularly the vast majority who are in favor of cannabis legalization. The article, published on March 2, 2022, references recent guidance from the Biden administration that suggests it would deny employment to any individuals who invest in cannabis related businesses (CRBs).
According to the guidance, issued late in 2021, Avril Haines, the US Director of National Intelligence, stated the following:
“…an adjudicative determination for an individual's eligibility for access to classified information or eligibility to hold a sensitive position may be impacted negatively should that individual knowingly and directly invest in stocks or business ventures that specifically pertain to marijuana growers and retailers while the cultivation and distribution of marijuana remains illegal under the Controlled Substances Act..”
As we have noted in past CRB Monitor newsletters, the Biden campaign platform favored cannabis decriminalization, but did not support full legalization at the federal level. It is unclear if this position has changed, but we assume that it has not, and critics of the administration are bristling at the lack of progress.
With that said, it is unclear how the President would respond if a legalization bill were to land on his desk. We are fairly certain that this is not a major concern, as there does not appear to be enough congressional support on the horizon for federal cannabis legalization. It’s simply a non-starter with Republicans (and a few Democrats), and so it would likely fail in the Senate.
The one piece of cannabis-related legislation that could potentially pass is the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which addresses only the issue of protections for US financial institutions that facilitate cannabis-related transactions (not legalization). And from the aforementioned guidance, we gather that the Biden administration’s position on cannabis investment is not difficult to understand. They are opposed.
What is somewhat unclear from the new guidance is whether or not it applies to investment in all Tier 1 CRBs or to some subset thereof. Does it include US only? Canada? Ex-North America? Recreational and Medical marijuana? What about Hemp? And as the Director of National Intelligence works toward writing a policy to reflect its intent, we believe that CRB Monitor is in a unique position to assist her with this complicated task.
About CRB Monitor
As the “gold standard” in cannabis market intelligence, the CRB Monitor database is the essential tool for financial institutions, businesses and investors who need to remain up to date on critical information related to the global cannabis ecosystem. CRB Monitor’s database covers more than 55,000 licensed Tier 1A cannabis businesses, including details on more than 85,000 ultimate beneficial owners of CRBs and more than 146,000 cannabis licenses. In addition, we maintain daily information on more than 1,700 publicly-traded cannabis-related securities and more than 1,400 issuers.
We not only provide this essential data, but we work with our clients to establish a cannabis policy that captures their individual needs related to cannabis compliance. Cannabis policy depends on several critical elements that can only be found in CRB Monitor:
- Rules-based definition of Cannabis-Related Business
- CRB Monitor Risk Tier Classification
- License data – geography, status, type, classification
- Cannabis Linked Sector (CLS)
- Complete corporate structure for Tier 1 publicly-traded issuers and their subsidiary businesses
CRB Monitor provides cannabis data solutions for some of the largest financial institutions in the world. This is why we believe that we are the thought leaders needed to assist the Biden administration as they navigate this complex space.
Wondering what a Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 CRB is?
See our seminal ACAMS Today white paper Defining "Marijuana-Related Business" and its update Defining "Cannabis-Related Business"