Boston-based attorney and patient advocate Shanel Lindsay founded Ardent LLC and invented the precision medicinal cannabis tool, the NOVA™ Decarboxylator, along with Ardent’s suite of wellness and beauty products. Shanel drafted the state of Massachusetts’ adult use cannabis law and is founding member and co-chair of the Northeast Cannabis Coalition and counsel to the Massachusetts Patients Advocacy Alliance. She was recently appointed by the Treasurer to the newly-formed Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board, working with the Massachusetts government to develop and implement regulations for the medical and adult use markets. Shanel is dedicated to improving public understanding of cannabis’ medicinal benefits. She is certain that with increased education, research, and reliable clinical data, patients and doctors—even those who have not previously considered cannabis as an option—will discover it is a legitimate, viable, and safe treatment for a wide variety of ailments and conditions.
Shanel completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania before receiving her JD from the Northeastern University School of Law. She began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for the Massachusetts Superior Court, then joined the Boston law firm of Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, where she served as a civil litigator for Fortune 500 companies. Shanel also worked for the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission as Employment Counsel and Director of Human Resources.
