Sullivan & Cromwell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz have taken lead roles on Altria Group’s CAD$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion) strategic equity investment in Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group.

Wachtell is counsel to Altria, one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco, and Sullivan & Cromwell is providing legal advice to Cronos, in a deal signaling a cultural shift in favor of the expanded production and distribution of cannabis. The drug, commonly referred to as marijuana, has long been illegal under U.S. federal law and also in numerous states, and only recently became legal in Canada for non-medicinal use.