For several years, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and progressives in the Democrat-controlled state legislature have supported legalizing REC. 

Now, with New Jersey poised to begin sales to all adults, and the state facing a Covid-related budget shortfall, observers speculate that the Empire State could legalize in 2021.  However, passage could be delayed by tensions over dueling bills, one of which promises significantly more money and benefits for equity. 
WeedWeek

• This week Cuomo, who hopes to legalize through the state budget process, which ends April 1, committed more pot tax revenue to an equity fund and announced support for delivery, a business relatively accessible to mom and pop entrepreneurs.

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Next door, New Jersey's REC bill hit another snag.
Asbury Park Press

More than 320,000 Americans work in cannabis, according to a new report from Leafly. As the pandemic devastated entire sectors of the economy last year, the legal cannabis sector added 77,300 jobs, more than twice as many as it added in 2019.
WeedWeek

The country has more than twice as many cannabis workers as dentists. The job growth, which includes plant-touching and ancillary companies, is all the more remarkable since only about a dozen states account for close to 90% of legal U.S. cannabis sales. 

• There's an asterisk: Marijuana’s federal illegality probably inflates the number of jobs in the industry. Without interstate trade, and the economies of scale it allows, companies that want to operate in more than one market essentially have to duplicate their operations in each. 
• For comparison, Marlboro's canna-curious parent company Altria, generates almost 50% more revenue than the cannabis industry with fewer than 9,000 employees. 

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What's going on:

• Hedge fund JW Asset Management and former NBA star Chris Webber launched a $100M private equity fund to support equity cannabis businesses.
  Reuters
• A SPAC backed by Tuatara Capital raised $175M to acquire PotCos.
  MJBiz
• Court filings said a former CEO of Eaze will face federal charges in a case accusing two businessmen of tricking banks into processing $100M in cannabis credit card payments. It's not clear what charges he will face. Eaze has not been charged, denies wrongdoing and says it cooperated with investigators. (Paywall) 
  Law360  
• Court filings suggest who invested $100M in MSO Green Thumb Industries.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• Cannabis Wire scoops that plaintiffs suing the city of Los Angeles over equity have proposed a settlement in order to accelerate the licensing process. (Paywall)
• 2020 pot sales in Colorado fell just short of $2.2B.
  Westword
• An equity oriented REC bill advanced in New Mexico.
  KOB
• Some suggest the Biden administration could be supportive of the medical psychedelics agenda. 
  Rolling Stone
• It's not surprising that some early cannabis titans have fallen writes lawyer Robert Hoban.
  Forbes
• A cannabinoid company backed by David Beckham plans to list in London.
  Sky
• A SoCal mother's search for her missing budtender son showed her the dark side of the cannabiz.
  L.A.Times