MJBiz suggests 10 more states could legalize MED or REC this year.

• “The more states move on legalization, the more out-of-touch states that are left behind appear,” Karen O’Keefe, state policies director for the Marijuana Policy Project wrote in an email. “Marijuana stores near state borders have parking lots full of license plates from their prohibitionist neighbors. It’s a very clear illustration of the economic growth that states are ceding to their neighbors the longer they fail to listen to voters.”
• The five states which the pub suggested could legalize MED all supported President Trump in November. 

The first REC sale in New York is still probably about a year off, and the state has only awarded 10 MED licenses, but the angling for position is well underway: 

• Business Insider identified 27 power players shaping New York's REC market. (Paywall)
• The state's CPAs are catching up to speed.
  Cannabis Wire
• Legalization appears set to upend the city's nightlife scene.
  Bloomberg
• A new bill proposes a cannabis packaging recycling program.
  Marijuana Moment
• MJBiz suggests the state's social equity program "could be a game changer." I recently had a more skeptical take in Slate.

Happenings:

• In unclear if legalization supporters have enough votes to pass "comprehensive" reform in the U.S. Senate, so they're exploring another option.
  Marijuana Moment
• A federal probe into Congressman and legalization supporter Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) includes scrutiny of his ties to the MED industry. Gaetz has not been charged.
  CNN 
• Crain's Chicago Business looks at the costs of Illinois' botched cannabis rollout. (Paywall)
• Thus far, cannabis workers' efforts to unionize have largely bypassed growers. That may be changing.
  Cannabis Wire
• Canadian player The Valens Company company said it would acquire Green Roads, the largest privately held CBD company in the U.S., in a deal worth up to $60M.
  Green Market Report 
• Business Insider is hosting a webinar tomorrow on how to invest in cannabis.
• Canadian operator Tilray appeared on Time's list of the 100 most influential companies. 
• Canada's Canopy Growth agreed to a substantial partnership with one of the largest alcohol wholesalers in the U.S.
  The Drinks Business
• The Freakonomics podcast called cannabis "a boon for older workers."
• The CEO of $2B marketing-tech start-up Iterable was fired for taking LSD at work. He said he was trying to microdose. 
  Bloomberg
• Would a governor Matthew McConaughey legalize Texas? The Cannigma examines the evidence.