Congress moves to let stock exchanges trade cannabis company shares despite federal ban
H.R. 7987 — CLIMB Act · Filed by Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 18, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits federal agencies from punishing people or businesses that provide financial, legal, accounting, real estate, or other services to cannabis companies operating legally under state law. It also creates a legal safe harbor allowing stock exchanges to list and trade securities of cannabis businesses without federal prosecution, resolving a conflict between state legalization and federal prohibition.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a dual deregulation: it bars federal agencies from penalizing service providers to cannabis businesses, and it creates an explicit safe harbor for securities exchanges and market participants to list and trade cannabis company securities. Both provisions remove federal enforcement risk for private parties operating in the cannabis sector.
What the text implies
- The safe harbor for securities exchanges may create a regulatory arbitrage: cannabis companies can raise capital on U.S. exchanges despite federal prohibition, potentially attracting speculative investment and complicating federal law enforcement.
- The prohibition on 'adverse action' against service providers is broadly worded ('solely because') and may shield financial institutions, insurers, and real estate firms from federal scrutiny even when their cannabis-related activities create money-laundering or sanctions-evasion risks.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
cannabis cultivation and retail companies; securities exchanges and market participants; financial services firms (banks, insurers, underwriters)