Momentum is picking up for cannabis-focused startups, which are seeing all-time highs in deal numbers as the space continues to mature.

Despite being an industry in regulatory flux, investors continue to ramp up their activity in the legal cannabis industry. Q4’15 was a record for deals to startups in the space, with nearly 30 in the quarter. This is up from just 2 deals in the same quarter just two years ago. Funding also passed $65M, the second-highest funding quarter since the peak of $94M in Q1’15, which included the giant $75M financing into Privateer Holdings, which is a private equity firm focused on legal cannabis.

For all the successful reforms and increasingly marijuana-friendly attitudes among politicians — not to mention a relentless, nation-wide cultural backlash against the failed policies of prohibition — most legal cannabis companies have remained stuck in a cash-focused industry, forced to tread a disastrously unfortunate line in regards to mainstream bank services.

In case you’ve missed it so far, this is a big deal: perhaps the biggest obstacle preventing cannabis from going irrevocably mainstream.

‘Dude, where’s my 401k?’

Since legalization first touched down in Washington and Colorado, there have been countless reports of cannabis companies waking up to realize their bank account had been shut down, or their credit cards canceled.

Vice, the media company with a stronghold among millennials, launches its new Viceland TV channel this week with a slate of shows including "Weediquette," a series that examines marijuana culture. 

And Krishna Andavolu knows what you're thinking — of course Vice would have a show about weed.

Still, it's not the marijuana — not even the THC or the cannabis oil — that the series seeks to truly illuminate.

Federal cannabis prohibition is a buzzkill on many levels, but for cannabusinesses in legal states, it’s an especially frustrating hurdle to expansion. When a brand outgrows its home turf, it can’t just start shipping packages of product to the next state over. 

Despite the difficulty, a number of companies have managed to cross state lines. Colorado’s Dixie Elixirs has products in Washington, California, and Oregon. They recently launched in Nevada, and Chief Marketing Officer Joe Hodas says the brand is close to inking a deal in Arizona. 

But zoning rules might curtail plans

Companies like Dank House, Motown Meds and Your Grass Station were among 82 businesses that applied to operate medical marijuana shops in Detroit on Tuesday, when the city’s new marijuana regulations went into effect.

Of the first 79 businesses that applied for zoning approval, 23 were from Detroit, 11 were from Howell, six were from Bloomfield Hills and the rest were scattered throughout the state, mostly in southeast Michigan.

$50,000 to go to top rated companies at its pitch events Companies to receive more help before pitching 

OAKLAND, Calif., March 1, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, The ArcView Group announced the launch of a Winner's Fund that will deploy $50,000 into a top-rated company at each of its upcoming pitch events and the hiring of a Chief Mentor who will spend hours helping each company prepare to pitch ArcView's 500+ high net worth investor members. 

As legal cannabis business grows larger, states are realizing standards need to be set.

In the latest step toward standardizing cannabis cultivation, the Washington State Department of Agriculture released formal recommendations called the “Worker Protection Standards (WPS): Requirements for Marijuana Growers.”

Standards in the regular world of agriculture are created by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, USDA inspection or certification of cannabis is prohibited because USDA employees must abide by federal laws. Over half of U.S. states have legalized medicinal or recreational marijuana use, but since the USDA cannot get involved, there are no set standards for cannabis cultivation.

This past weekend, a marijuana expo came to Fort Worth, Texas. Many of the 6,000 attendees of the Fort Worth expo were deeply moved by some of the speakers there, and experts agree that events like this signal that “The Green Rush,” the name being given to the impending nationwide legalization of recreational pot, is coming.

Oregon has collected taxes on marijuana sales since the start of February but officials don't expect to have an official tally until mid-March.

The Oregon Department of Revenue began collecting taxes from January sales on Feb. 1. Medical marijuana dispensaries had until Monday to send in their first month of tax payments.

Joy Krawczyk, an agency spokeswoman, said the agency is waiting for payments that were mailed in the final days of the month before releasing the final tally. 

Medical marijuana stores have been allowed to sell to anyone 21 and older since last October. Consumers enjoyed a tax holiday for the first three months; a 25 percent tax kicked in on Jan. 1.

Shares in MMJ PhytoTech dropped sharply after the medical cannabis company announced a first half loss and a successful $5 million equity capital raising.

A short time ago, the shares were down 14.7% to $0.29.

The company is issuing 20,833,333 shares at 24 cents each, a 20% discount to the 15 day average price.

The funds raised will be used to accelerate the company’s entry into the Australian market following the passing of legislation by the federal government legalising cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The funding will also be applied for a phase two clinical study to further test an oral capsule for treating multiple sclerosis.