A Former Blackrock Executive Is Raising One Of The Biggest Marijuana Funds Yet

  • Medmen Opportunity II eyes New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas
  • Pot industry faces hurdles on locations, banking services

QuickTake: Marijuana's Road to U.S. Legalization

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A private equity fund co-chaired by a former BlackRock Inc. executive is planning to raise $250 million to invest in marijuana businesses in places such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas and midtown Manhattan.

MedMen Opportunity Fund II, which looks for companies that cultivate, manufacture and sell pot, is setting up operations in the nation’s most popular tourist destinations. The effort is timely because New York recently added chronic pain as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, California’s recreational market opens in 2018 and Nevada legalized adult weed use in July. Canada plans to legalize the plant nationally by July.