The nationwide coronavirus outbreak could set back cannabis legalization efforts along the East Coast and elsewhere, raising further questions about the launch of lucrative new adult-use and medical markets in New York and other states.
Those potential markets, if launched, could generate billions of dollars in business opportunities for a range of marijuana companies.
But the outlook for legalization in those places now seems up in the air.
Coronavirus already has caused a number of state legislatures to temporarily shut down, including ones on the East Coast that were weighing recreational marijuana legalization measures.
Additionally, several cannabis ballot initiatives across the country, including a recreational initiative in Ohio, could suffer, especially if a prolonged disruption of daily lives prevents petition drives from collecting enough signatures ahead of official deadlines.