New York lawmakers reportedly secured a deal to legalize REC, giving rise to a projected $4.2B industry. Bringing legal cannabis in the country's most populous and highest profile city is also a major symbolic victory for the movement.
N.Y.Times

• The deal would allow alcohol-free consumption lounges, a substantial equity component, home delivery and the right to grow up to six plants at home. 
• A vote on the proposal could come as soon as this week. If approved, the first legal sale is still probably more than a year away.  
• A top Wall Street analyst said the deal isn't favorable to the MED companies currently operating in the state. (Paywall)
  Business Insider

Meanwhile legalization appears to be gaining momentum nationwide. A bi-partisan push to legalize is underway in neighboring Pennsylvania, as New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham plans a special session of the legislature to get REC done. In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam is under pressure to allow sales before 2024.
CNN

• Connecticut lawmakers are looking at competing REC proposals.
  Marijuana Moment
• Delaware lawmakers are expected to vote on REC in about a month.
  Bay to Bay News 

As more states legalize, opponents increasingly see potency caps as a way to curb the industry's growth. Insiders compare the proposals to a return to prohibition since they involve banning many of the products currently available in legal markets.  
MJBiz

• There's also the possibility of a federal potency cap being included in forthcoming legislation in Congress.
• The only current state to have potency caps is Vermont for its yet to open REC market. It limits flower to 30% THC and concentrates to 60% THC.
• A shelved bill in Colorado would have limited all products to 15% THC, which would ban an estimated 65% of the products currently sold in the state's market.
• Lawmakers in Florida, Massachusetts Washington state and Montana have also weighed potency caps.
• “If we go down this road, if we start banning certain products, we get law enforcement back in the business of enforcing cannabis laws,” said Chris Lindsey, director of government relations at Marijuana Policy Project.

Goings on:

• Two businessmen were convicted of tricking banks into processing more than $100M in cannabis purchases for delivery app Eaze. Eaze was not charged and said it cooperated with authorities. (Paywall)
  WSJ
• Following the firing of several administration staffers, a Washington Post piece argues keeping pot smokers out of the government is a "losing fight."
• Here are six major food and beverage players entering the industry.
  Powder & Bulk Solids
• MJBiz asks if the pandemic killed consumption lounges.
• The National Hispanic Cannabis Council launched.
• New industry group, the U.S. Cannabis Council announced its board of directors.
• In New Jersey, a bill that would allow police to notify the parents of a minor caught using marijuana or alcohol is on its way to the Governor's desk.
  WOBM
• WeedWeek advertiser Leafwire secured $1M from its crowdfunding effort.
  Benzinga
• Cannabis Wire asks if Israeli legalization can regain momentum. (Paywall)
• Some health experts are concerned about growing cannabis use among older Americans. Psychiatric Times has more.
  N.Y.Times
  
• High Times published a user's guide to fake cannabis news.