Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter (D) and Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said lawmakers would take up REC legalization in a special session this June, and predicted it would pass.

It had looked like a bill might pass in the normal session, which ended Wednesday. 
Hartford Courant

• Republicans feel left out of the legislative process and had cold feet before the normal session ended. House GOP leader Vincent Candelora called the bill "tainted" and called for an investigation on account of language in the bill that would have benefitted one entity. That language has been stripped from the bill.  
  NBC, Fox
• The special session is necessary for a separate budget bill which Democrats say could now pass on the same day as REC.
• Connecticut would be the second east coast "domino" to fall after New Jersey voters legalized last election day. The affluent state has companies salivating.
• Marijuana Moment has more details.

Related: The Delaware House delayed a REC vote.
Delaware Public Media 

Quick Hit

1. REC delivery is underway in Massachusetts. For the first three years, licenses will only be available to equity businesses.
   Boston Globe

Despite what you may have heard, it’s not illegal for federally licensed banks to serve cannabis companies. The truth is that these relationships are legal, but they create sufficient regulatory and operational risk, and require such onerous compliance work, that most banks decide the industry isn’t worth the trouble. Dama Financial’s product and service suite enables FDIC-insured banks to serve cannabis companies. 

“Everyone should have access to transparent and compliant banking,” Dama Chief Revenue Officer Eric Kaufman says. “That should be a commodity.” Companies with bank accounts are more likely to pay their taxes and operate in accordance with the law. But at the moment, cannabis companies can only work with the banks that make the “risk-based decision,” to work with them. And the banks that do need guidance for how to serve the industry in a responsible way...  

Read the WeedWeek spotlight.

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Happenings:

• Investment firm Merida Capital is raising $250M for a new fund. Managing partner Mitch Baruchowitz recently predicted cannabis would have a $1 Trillion economic impact by 2027.
  Insider 
• California growers prep for fire season as Washington state growers worry about competition from Delta 8 THC.
  MJBiz
• New York magazine asked New York City's mayoral candidates how often they smoke weed and then edited it into an Instagram video.
• Politico finds that the Mormon church has been a quiet MED advocate in deep red states.
• With legalization, Virginia is retiring drug sniffing police dogs.
  AP
• REC legalization has stalled again in Mexico, but seems to be moving forward in Brazil.
  Canna Law Blog
• CLIO is opening to entries for its 2021 cannabis marketing awards. 
• The New York Times calls Symone, the RuPaul Drag Race champ and spokes-queen for infused beverage Cann, "a love letter to Blackness and queerness." 
• A guy named Greg Welch, who sculpts promotional images out of weed, extracts and accessories, called the biggest MSOs "fucking gross." "Don't buy their products. Don't work there. Don't click their paid for PR," he wrote.
• Fellow LinkedIn activist Brett Puffenbarger called for a truce between legacy operators and MBAs. "It takes both things: A passion for the plant, and a solid business mind to succeed in #cannabis these days."