A Democratic election trifecta – control of the White House and both chambers of Congress – is giving marijuana industry executives hope for federal reform and encouraging investors to pump a record amount of money into cannabis businesses during the initial weeks of the year. North American cannabis companies either closed or announced more than $1.6 billion in capital raises in January in the wake of Democrats taking control of the U.S. Senate, further easing a funding shortage that began in 2019, according to an analysis by Denver-based MJResearchCo. “The capital drought that began in late summer 2019 appears to be over, with cannabis operators closing in on $2 billion in new capital – including announced deals – since the Democratic win” in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff race in January, said Michael Regan, founder, and analyst at MJResearchCo. In fact, experts said, the industry might well haul in a record amount of funding this year. A pickup in funding activity would be in marked contrast to last year, when funding plunged to $4.2 billion from $11.6 billion in 2019 and $14.2 billion in 2018, according to New York-based Viridian Capital Advisors.
Marijuana Business Daily, 02/04/2021 06:30:00