I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2712 

To ensure that certain loan programs of the Small Business Administration 

are made available to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service 

providers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2021 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. EVANS, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committees 

on Energy and Commerce, the Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To ensure that certain loan programs of the Small Business 

Administration are made available to cannabis-related 

legitimate businesses and service providers, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Safe Capital 

5 Access for All Small Businesses Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS. 

2 (a) CANNABIS REMOVED FROM SCHEDULE OF CON3 TROLLED SUBSTANCES.—Subsection (c) of schedule I of 

4 section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

5 U.S.C. 812) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (10) (relating to mar7 ihuana); and 

8 (2) by striking paragraph (17) (relating to 

9 terahydrocannabinols). 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED

11 SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 

12 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 102(44) (21 U.S.C. 802(44)), by 

14 striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 

15 (2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

18 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 

19 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

20 (II) by striking (vii); and 

21 (III) by redesignating clause 

22 (viii) as clause (vii); 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

24 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 

25 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

26 (II) by striking clause (vii); and 


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1 (III) by redesignating clause 

2 (viii) as clause (vii); 

3 (iii) in subparagraph (C), in the first 

4 sentence, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A), 

5 (B), and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara6 graphs (A) and (B)’’; 

7 (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); 

8 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (E) 

9 as subparagraph (D); and 

10 (vi) in subparagraph (D)(i), as so re11 designated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (C) 

12 and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

13 (C)’’; 

14 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and 

15 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 

16 and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec17 tively; 

18 (3) in section 402(c)(2)(B) (21 U.S.C. 

19 842(c)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 

20 (4) in section 403(d)(1) (21 U.S.C. 843(d)(1)), 

21 by striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 

22 (5) in section 418(a) (21 U.S.C. 859(a)), by 

23 striking the last sentence; 

24 (6) in section 419(a) (21 U.S.C. 860(a)), by 

25 striking the last sentence; 


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1 (7) in section 422(d) (21 U.S.C. 863(d))— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

3 by striking ‘‘marijuana,’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘, such 

5 as a marihuana cigarette,’’; and 

6 (8) in section 516(d) (21 U.S.C. 886(d)), by 

7 striking ‘‘section 401(b)(6)’’ each place the term ap8 pears and inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(5)’’. 

9 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM DRUG CONTROL

11 ACT OF 1986.—The National Forest System Drug 

12 Control Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 559b et seq.) is 

13 amended— 

14 (A) in section 15002(a) (16 U.S.C. 

15 559b(a)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 

16 (B) in section 15003(2) (16 U.S.C. 

17 559c(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 

18 and 

19 (C) in section 15004(2) (16 U.S.C. 

20 559d(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’. 

21 (2) INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS.—Sec22 tion 2516 of title 18, United States Code, is amend23 ed— 

24 (A) in subsection (1)(e), by striking ‘‘, 

25 marihuana,’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (2) by striking ‘‘mari2 huana’’. 

3 SEC. 3. 7(a) LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 

4 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

5 Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

7 new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(38) LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI9 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

11 may not decline to provide a guarantee for a 

12 loan under this subsection, and a lender may 

13 not decline to make a loan made under this 

14 subsection, to an otherwise eligible small busi15 ness concern solely because such concern is a 

16 cannabis-related legitimate business or service 

17 provider. 

18 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(i) CANNABIS.—The term ‘cannabis’ 

20 has the meaning given the term ‘mari21 huana’ in section 102 of the Controlled 

22 Substances Act. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CANNABIS PRODUCT.—The term 

24 ‘cannabis product’ means any article which 

25 contains cannabis, including an article 


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1 which is a concentrate, an edible, a tinc2 ture, a cannabis-infused product, or a top3 ical. 

4 ‘‘(iii) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI5 MATE BUSINESS.—The term ‘cannabis-re6 lated legitimate business’ means a manu7 facturer, producer, or any person or com8 pany that is a small business concern and 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(I) engages in any activity de11 scribed in subclause (II) pursuant to 

12 a law established by a State or a po13 litical subdivision of a State, as deter14 mined by such State or political sub15 division; and 

16 ‘‘(II) participates in any business 

17 or organized activity that involves 

18 handling cannabis or cannabis prod19 ucts, including cultivating, producing, 

20 manufacturing, selling, transporting, 

21 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or 

22 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod23 ucts. 

24 ‘‘(iv) MANUFACTURER.—The term 

25 ‘manufacturer’ means a person who manuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712

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1 factures, compounds, converts, processes, 

2 prepares, or packages cannabis or cannabis 

3 products. 

4 ‘‘(v) PRODUCER.—The term ‘pro5 ducer’ means a person who plants, cul6 tivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates 

7 the natural growth of cannabis. 

8 ‘‘(vi) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

9 ‘service provider’— 

10 ‘‘(I) means a business, organiza11 tion, or other person that— 

12 ‘‘(aa) sells goods or services 

13 to a cannabis-related legitimate 

14 business; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) provides any business 

16 services, including the sale or 

17 lease of real or any other prop18 erty, legal or other licensed serv19 ices, or any other ancillary serv20 ice, relating to cannabis; and 

21 ‘‘(II) does not include a business, 

22 organization, or other person that 

23 participates in any business or orga24 nized activity that involves handling 

25 cannabis or cannabis products, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712

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1 ing cultivating, producing, manufac2 turing, selling, transporting, dis3 playing, dispensing, distributing, or 

4 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod5 ucts. 

6 ‘‘(vii) STATE.—The term ‘State’ 

7 means each of the several States, the Dis8 trict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 

9 territory or possession of the United 

10 States.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. DISASTER LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI12 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

13 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

14 636(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (15) the 

15 following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(16) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE17 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

18 The Administrator may not decline to provide assist19 ance under this subsection to an otherwise eligible 

20 borrower solely because such borrower is a cannabis21 related legitimate business or service provider (as 

22 defined in subsection (a)(38)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. MICROLOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 

2 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

3 Section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 636(m)(13)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(14) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE7 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

8 The Administrator may not decline to make a loan 

9 or a grant under this subsection, and an eligible 

10 intermediary may not decline to provide assistance 

11 under this subsection to an otherwise eligible bor12 rower, eligible intermediary, or eligible nonprofit en13 tity (as applicable) solely because such borrower, 

14 intermediary, or nonprofit entity is a cannabis-re15 lated legitimate business or service provider (as de16 fined in subsection (a)(38)).’’. 

17 SEC. 6. SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY DEBEN18 TURES TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LE19 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PRO20 VIDERS. 

21 Part A of title III of the Small Business Investment 

22 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 321. DEBENTURES TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED 

2 LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PRO3 VIDERS. 

4 ‘‘(a) GUARANTEES.—The Administrator may not de5 cline to purchase or guarantee a debenture made under 

6 this title to an otherwise eligible small business investment 

7 company solely because such small business investment 

8 company provides financing to an entity that is a can9 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider (as 

10 defined in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act). 

11 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A small business invest12 ment company may not decline to provide assistance under 

13 this title to an otherwise eligible small business concern 

14 solely because such small business concern is a cannabis15 related legitimate business or service provider (as defined 

16 in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act).’’. 

17 SEC. 7. STATE OR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LOANS 

18 TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI19 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

20 Title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 

21 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 511. LOANS TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI24 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

25 ‘‘(a) LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES.—The Admin26 istrator may not decline to make or provide a guarantee 


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1 for a loan under this title to an otherwise eligible qualified 

2 State or local development company solely because such 

3 qualified State or local development company provides fi4 nancing to an entity that is a cannabis-related legitimate 

5 business or service provider (as defined in section 7(a)(38) 

6 of the Small Business Act). 

7 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A qualified State or local 

8 development company may not decline to provide assist9 ance under this title to an otherwise eligible small business 

10 concern solely because such small business concern is a 

11 cannabis-related legitimate business or service provider (as 

12 defined in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act).’’. 

13 SEC. 8. RULEMAKING. 

14 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business 

16 Administration shall issue or amend any rules, standard 

17 operating procedures, other legal or policy guidance nec18 essary to carry out the requirements of this Act and the 

19 amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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