Busy news week for Connecticut and cannabis. Aside from studies on legalization and, uhh, the munchies, Connecticut itself is considering broad legalization measures. The Hartford Courant reports that state legislatures are taking a series of bills to the General Assembly. The considered measures call for a legalized rec-use market in the Nutmeg State and, if passed, could have a pilot retail program running by the end of 2019.
Connecticut Adult-Use Would Be Highly Regulated, Designed For Social Equity
Lawmakers, heeding the call for social equity from minority caucuses, have designed the bills to afford minority entrepreneurs a first crack at cultivation and other license types according to the Hartford Courant story. Of additional significance is the call for expungement of low level arrest and criminal records stemming from marijuana arrests. As states such as Connecticut’s neighbor, New York, face threats of blocking votes from its black and minority lawmakers, Connecticut is wisely getting ahead of the dilemma by writing social equity into its initial drafts. Who da thunk that doing the morally responsible thing was in the best interest of politicians? [Zing! –Ed.]
Beyond the social equity aspects, the measures are calling for the formation of a state-managed panel that would oversee licensure and handle regulations and codes at the state level that would largely mirror Connecticut’s oversight group on MMJ which is already legal. One intriguing stipulation in the proposal calls for a ban on gummy edibles which, according to officials, could be enticing to children. It’s a curious call from a consumer standpoint as more and more retailers see demand and interest in edibles going up, with declining interest (and sales) in flower across other legalized states. Still, if state lawmakers make the call that flower (or other non-gummy edibles) are the rule of the day, dispensary owners can “render unto Caesar” and all that jazz.
The legalization draft also calls for no homegrown cannabis, but leaves open the possibility for it down the road.
Connecticut Cannabis Stays Ahead of the Curve
As New York and New Jersey slog their way towards legalization, Connecticut has quietly kept up with its New England neighbors Massachusetts and Vermont. While Connecticut will likely never be lumped in with the Colorados or Californias of the U.S. cannabis industry, Connecticut is still a very populous state that could see substantial tax revenue from legalization, a lesson that New Hampshire might do well to study.