Can Cannabis Businesses Sue the Feds for COVID Relief?

As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the economy, the federal government scrambled to support businesses in virtually every U.S. industry except cannabis.

This year’s CARES Act included hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable business loans -- the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) -- administered by the Small Business Administration(SBA). It enabled businesses with under 500 employees to receive funds to make payroll and other key costs.

However, SBA’s rules block the federally-illegal marijuana industry from taking part. They also blocked ancillary cannabis businesses from . . .