While cannabis sales rose in several states during the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the cannabis industry has, like other industries, faced financial hardship.
The CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) made available loans, through the federal Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), aimed at giving small businesses the ability to maintain their workforce and keep them active on the payrolls.
When these loans were announced, there was plenty of confusion around whether hemp and cannabis companies could qualify, and how. The SBA released guidance making it clear that hemp companies can qualify, as the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, but cannabis companies cannot. Exactly which ancillary cannabis companies would be considered a cannabis company under the eyes of the SBA remained murky.
Nonetheless, Cannabis Wire dug into the PPP loan recipient data and found that plenty of the country’s biggest hemp companies qualified to receive loans from the federal government. And while we didn’t find any plant-touching cannabis companies on the list, we did spot a few ancillary cannabis companies.
It’s worth noting that just because these companies qualified does not mean that they kept the funds. For example, Bronwyn Flores, spokesperson for Metrc, told Cannabis Wire that Metrc applied for and was awarded a PPP loan, but the company “ultimately elected to return the funds in May.”
“The cannabis industry has seen a nationwide rise in activity this year, from production to consumption and as we gained a better understanding of the pandemic’s impact on our business, we became more confident in our ability to weather the storm. We returned the funds to be used by other small businesses in greater need than us,” Flores said.
(Cannabis Wire will update this piece with other comments as they come in.)
Looking only at the list of companies included below, somewhere between $19 million and $42 million was distributed by the federal government to these hemp and ancillary cannabis companies. (The data released by the SBA only provides the names of entities that received $150,000 or more, and provides only the range of funding, not an exact figure.)
Here’s what Cannabis Wire found:
Akerna Corp — $2 – 5 million
All About Hemp — $150,000 – $350,000
All American Hemp Company LLC — $1-2 million
American Hemp Ventures, Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
AmHemp Kentucky — $150,000 – $350,000
Anne Holland Ventures (MJ Biz Daily) — $1-2 million
Arcview Group, Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
Barlean’s Organic Oils, LLC —$1-2 million
Blue Dog Hemp — $350,000 – $1 million
Blue Moon Hemp INC — $350,000 – $1 million
Canna, LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
CBD Enterprises, Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
CBD, Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
CBDMD Inc — $1-2 million
CBD Supply MD Wholesale Co — $150,000 – $350,000
CBD USA Grown Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
CV Sciences — $2-5 million
Hemp Incorporated — $150,000 – $350,000
Hempire Capital — $150,000 – $350,000
Hemp Temps — $350,000 – $1 million
Heritage Hemp LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
Hypur Inc — $350,000 – $1 million
IndHemp LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
Integrated CBD LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
Jack Hempicine LLC — $350,000 – $1 million
Kentucky Heritage Hemp Co, LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
Koi CBD — $350,000 – $1 million
LabCanna Biosciences, Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
LabCanna, LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
Medterra CBD, LLC — $1-2 million
Metrc, Inc — $350,000 – $1 million
New Mexico Hemp Services — $150,000 – $350,000
Nutralife Biosciences — $150,000 – $350,000
Pure Spectrum CBD, LLC — $150K
RN Hemp Products — $150,000 – $350,000
Saginaw Bay Hemp Company — $350,000 – $1 million
Sozo Hemp — $150,000 – $350,000
Triangle Hemp LLC — $150,000 – $350,000
VetCBD Inc — $150,000 – $350,000
Whole Hemp Company LLC — $2-5 million
WM Canna — $150,000 – $350,000
Zilis — $350,000 – $1 million
