The details of legalization -- how markets are structured, when it happens, how the industry will be taxed and many more -- are worth billions to the biggest cannabis companies.

However, much remains unknown about how they envision the future, and what their success will mean for consumers and society. Their thinking also has implications for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who work in the industry. 

As cannabis enters a crucial period, with REC gaining steam in the northeast and federal legalization looking more likely than ever before, WeedWeek sent a list of 12 questions to some of the most powerful CEOs in cannabis.

Some are softballs, others less so, but they all touch on what kind of industry cannabis is going to be.

Here's what I asked.

On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed laws to decriminalize cannabis and create the mid-Atlantic region’s first legal REC market, projected to be worth $1B in annual sales. The move kicks off a process for the state to create regulations, as companies position themselves to win licenses. It could be close to a year before the first legal REC shop opens.
WeedWeek

WeedWeek spoke to Rob DiPisa, co-chair of the cannabis group at law firm Cole Schotz about what to expect in a state where nothing is ever easy. 

Badda bing, badda boom...

Around the horn:

• U.S. Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland said the feds shouldn't waste resources on state-legal cannabis activity.
  Marijuana Moment
• Beau Wrigley, billionaire heir to the chewing gum fortune, and CEO of MSO Parallel, is taking his company public through a SPAC in partnership with Ceres Acquisition Corp. and the entertainment and tech entrepreneur Scooter Braun. The deal values Parallel at $1.9B.
  Forbes, Variety
• An unnamed company tried to buy Canadian player Aphria while it was negotiating its merger with Tilray.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• Former Eaze CEO Jim Patterson plead guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The plea comes a week before two of his associates go on trial for an alleged scheme to trick banks into processing more than $100M in cannabis payments. Eaze is not a defendant in the case, denies wrongdoing and says it cooperated with authorities.
  MJBiz
• A California bill would decriminalize psychedelics.
  Canna Law Blog
• MJBiz looks at how genetic editing enables cannabis companies to improve their crops.
• North Dakota's House of Representatives passed a REC bill. On to the Senate!
  Grand Forks Herald
• Mary investigates the creation of 'Puff' the rubber chicken bong.