May 25 2021,

TOGETHER WITH

CONNECTICUT NEARS REC DEAL
image

The northeast dominoes continue to fall.

Top Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut said they're close to a deal with Gov. Ned Lamont (D) to legalize REC. A vote could come as soon as next week.
Hartford Courant

  • Issues including homegrow and equity benefits remain unsettled.
  • They'll have to move fast since the legislative session ends on June 9.
  • If a bill doesn't pass it could appear on the ballot in November 2022.
  • Marijuana Moment has more.

Nearby, businesses in New York and New Jersey are already racing to stave off pot shortages. And HeadyNJ beefs about corporate cannabis in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
New York Times

  • Down the coast, Delaware could also go REC soon. MJBiz checks out some of the longer shot states states where reform this year is still on the table. 
HOW MSOS THINK ABOUT LEGALIZATION
image
@monogramcompany

In cannabis, so much happens even as nothing seems to change. 

Events in recent months indicate the momentum for legalization has never been stronger. But the same laws blocking the industry’s access to banking, interstate trade and other routine business activity have left brands facing the same obstacles they’ve encountered for years. 

I wrote a story for MJBrand insights discussing how some of the industry's biggest operators think about strategy at this weird moment:

“None of us actually know what’s going to happen,” said Steve Allan, CEO of The Parent Company, a portfolio of brands including Caliva and Jay-Z’s Monogram.  Allan suspects federal legalization is several years off, but in this volatile and uncertain climate, he said Parent aims to maintain “high optionality.” In other words, he doesn’t want to pursue a strategy that depends on a politician voting a certain way."   

Read the whole thing.

More interesting stuff from MJInsights:

IN THE NEWS — 5/26/21
image
@herveedibles

Goings on: