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In an ironic twist of fate, it appears a prominent member of Donald Trump’s cabinet has a strong tie to the legal cannabis industry.
Shane McMahon, the son of legendary WWE founder Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon, who runs the U.S. Small Business Administration, recently invested in a company that manufactures pre-fabricated modules for growing cannabis.
According to court documents, McMahon made a cool $500,000 investment for a sizable stake in a Connecticut-based company EnviroGrow. The start-up firm sells the modules in states where medical or recreational cannabis is legal.
Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical use, and eight of those states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, as well as DC) have legalized the plants for recreational purposes.
McMahon’s involvement with EnviroGrow was revealed through a lawsuit he filed with the Connecticut court, in which he claimed the company’s owner deceived him about the state of the business.
The firm was started back in 2012 by Joseph Palmieri, a volunteer firefighter and owner of Connecticut Tank Removal, an environmental cleanup company.
McMahon’s intended role within the business was to help market the modules to potential clientele. However, Shane’s interest in the company soon waned after inspecting EnviroGrow’s infrastructure. Allegedly, McMahon traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado, the company’s location after making the investment, only to find its so-called “manufacturing plant” was essentially non-existent.
“He thought it was going to be a big boom and make a lot of money,” said a source regarding McMahon’s interest.
McMahon apparently asked for his $500K investment back, but Palmeri refused.
As the lawsuit continues, Palmeri has stood by the legitmacy of his company.
“EnviroGrow is a viable company,” Palmeri declared. “It’s a great little business and it’s up and coming.”
Newly appointed CEO Dan Williams echoed Palmeri’s words and claimed there are already orders in place for module distribution in Colorado, California, Massachusetts and Nevada.
Despite McMahon’s heavy involvment in EnviroGrow, a Small Business Association spokesperson did not respond to comment regarding Linda’s views on her son’s investment.
McMahon’s involement in the cannabis industry is somewhat suprising, considering the Trump cabinet’s staunch opposition to legal cannabis.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has gone as far to say “good people do not smoke marijuana,” and has been one of the most vocal critics when it comes to not only federal, but state legalization of the plant.
“I’ve never felt that we should legalize marijuana,” Sessions said during a press conference on September 20th.
Regardless, of Sessions’ views, there’s no doubt the cannabis industry is one of the country’s burgeoning markets. Companies, even as prmitive as EnviroGrow, are just the beginning of what is to come.
Whether the Trump administration approves or not.
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