$6 billion question: Which states are likely to legalize recreational marijuana in 2021?

Recreational marijuana legalization victories at the ballot box in Arizona and New Jersey this month have set the table for adult-use legalization in a handful of nearby states in 2021 – with more than $6 billion in business opportunities possibly up for grabs within a few years.

“New York, Connecticut, Maryland, New Mexico are ripe for 2021” to legalize recreational use through their legislatures, said Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Washington DC-based Marijuana Policy Project.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also is pushing hard to legalize adult use to generate tax revenues and to keep pace with neighboring New Jersey.

One incentive for New York and Pennsylvania to act: New Jersey’s legalization of adult-use marijuana on Nov. 3 could result in MJ customers being siphoned from both states.