April 2018


Last week’s presidential support of states’ rights to regulate cannabis was a welcome development for many in the legalized marijuana space. It shouldn’t have necessarily come as a surprise, though—after all, on the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump often espoused his view that the issue should be “up to the states.”

And it seems that many in Washington are beginning to come around to the President’s thinking on the matter, second-guessing long-held beliefs that have influenced federal policy for decades. In just the past week, two of the nation’s foremost media drivers of political thought/coverage have run articles that categorize the march toward legalization as having a cadence unmatched by any in history.

Per Politico:

Evolution on the marijuana issue is proceeding at warp speed in political terms. [Former House Speaker John] Boehner is just the latest in a string of noteworthy newcomers to the legalization movement that has been barreling through state houses for the past decade. Just in the past several weeks, Mitch McConnell fast-tracked a Senate bill to legalize low-THC hemp. Chuck Schumer announced that he would introduce a bill to deschedule marijuana entirely … The Food and Drug Administration opened a comment period on the

… Keep reading


After threatening to block any Department of Justice nominations following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ revocation of the Cole Memorandum, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado said in a statement that President Trump has given him assurances that states in which marijuana is legal will be protected from federal interference.

Per Senator Gardner:

Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states’ rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana. Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice’s rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry. Furthermore, President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all.

Because of these commitments, I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees. My colleagues and I are continuing to work diligently on a bipartisan legislative solution that can pass Congress and head to the President’s desk to deliver on his campaign position.

If true, this indicates a willingness on the part of the president to break sharply from the stance of Attorney General Sessions, who, in nixing the Cole … Keep reading

Client Spotlight: A Q&A with New England Cannabis Trailblazer, TaShonda Vincent-Lee


The CannaBusiness Advisory is pleased to spotlight some of the Burns & Levinson clients that are pushing the cannabis industry forward, in Massachusetts and beyond. First up is TaShonda Vincent-Lee, co-founder and director of community outreach at ELEVATE New England, a networking firm “created to support the New England cannabis industry’s need for workforce and community education.”

What made you decide to start ELEVATE New England? 

My co-founders and I couldn’t ignore the undeniable need for cannabis education in New England, both for the diverse people wanting to work in and own businesses in the newly legalized marijuana industry and, perhaps more importantly, for the communities in which cannabis businesses sought to operate. Despite passage of Question 4 by a significant margin in 2016, municipalities across the state are discussing and implementing bans and moratoria, and this is because of ignorance and fear about the plant. We created ELEVATE to connect the cannabis workforce with training and opportunity, and to provide proactive outreach to a variety of communities and demographics, so that more jobs can be created by thriving businesses. To that end, we provide professional networking opportunities, coordinate community education efforts, and generally promote a more diverse … Keep reading

Momentum Grows for Capital Raises in MJ Markets


The capital raised in the first five weeks of 2018, alone, matched deals for all of 2016. And the feeding frenzy has not decelerated, with the overall first quarter of 2018 seeing almost $3 billion in capital raises—more than four times the amount raised in the first quarter of 2017. This is attributable to increases in both the number and size of capital raises: The cannabis industry saw over 160 capital raises (vs. about 100 in 2017) at an average raise size of roughly $15 million (vs. roughly $5 million for 2017), with more than a dozen of these raises bringing in $50 million or more.

The landscape of the cannabis capital markets is also changing. During the early years, investments were often made in the form of high-interest-rate loans, due to investors’ skepticism of industry growth and aversion to risk related to all things cannabis. Now, over 80% of capital raises are equity raises, as a result of investors seeing real potential in an industry where regulatory and other risks are becoming fewer, and public acceptance and support are growing wider. Smaller “cannabis-focused” venture capital funds are popping up around the country at a rapid pace. Mainstream … Keep reading