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Legislation to legalize cannabis in Connecticut passed the state\u2019s House of Representatives on a 76\u201362 vote on Wednesday following hours of floor debate. The measure now returns to the Senate for approval of changes made by the House to address a last-minute veto threat<\/a> from Gov. Ned Lamont (D).<\/p>\n If the Senate signs off on the revisions and Lamont indeed signs the bill into law, possession of marijuana by adults 21 and older would become legal on July 1.<\/p>\n Commercial sales could begin as soon as May of next year, though the legislation does not specify an exact start date.<\/p>\n The Senate is expected to take up the amended bill on Thursday during a floor session scheduled for 9:30 AM.<\/p>\n \u201cConnecticut\u2019s time has finally come,\u201d Rep. Steven Stafstrom (D) said ahead of the House vote. \u201cToday we take the next step as this chamber in recognizing that the war on drugs has failed us and the criminalization of cannabis was the wrong course of action for our state and for our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Strafstrom emphasized that the bill\u2019s approval is just a first step in regulating cannabis fairly and effectively. \u201cThere is further work to be done by the social equity council that is set up in this bill,\u201d he said, \u201cand by various state agencies to effectuate policy laid out at the 30,000-foot level.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of the House discussion consisted of pushback from Republicans, who broadly oppose the policy change on the grounds that legalization would normalize cannabis use\u2014particularly among young people\u2014and cause public safety problems, among a host of other criticisms. Some Democrats who voted against the bill aired similar concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cMark my words,\u201d said Rep. Tom O\u2019Dea (R), \u201cpeople will die because of this bill, because of marijuana being sold in Connecticut.\u201d He called his vote against the measure \u201cthe most important vote I will take in my nine years\u201d in the legislature.<\/p>\n Rep. Jason Rojas (D), who helped lead negotiations on the proposal as House majority leader, said before the final vote that \u201cthe road to this moment has been long and complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt began with a federal prohibition on marijuana in 1937. It was complicated by a war on drugs launched in 1971 that took a tough-on-crime approach, an approach that has impacted the lives of millions of Americans whose involvement with the use of a substance should have been treated as a public health matter, rather than a criminal justice matter.\u201d<\/p>\n The Senate passed a different version of the bill\u00a0a day earlier, as lawmakers began a special legislative session on Tuesday. Just ahead of that vote, however, Lamont\u2019s office issued a surprise warning that the governor would veto that version of the bill over concerns about language that expanded social equity eligibility rules.<\/p>\n Earlier on Tuesday, senators had adopted an amendment allowing people with past cannabis arrests and convictions, as well as their parents, children and spouses, to qualify for social equity status when applying for marijuana business licenses. Previously the bill limited eligibility only to people who reside in areas that have been disproportionately affected by drug war convictions and arrests.<\/p>\n Half of all business licenses under the new system would need to be issued to social equity applicants.<\/p>\n While the provision expanding equity eligibility based on past arrests and convictions was intended to help redress harms caused by the war on drugs, Lamont\u2019s chief of staff, Paul Mounds Jr., said in a statement that it would \u201copen the floodgates for tens of thousands of previously ineligible applicants to enter the adult-use cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n The rule \u201callows just about anyone with a history of cannabis crimes or a member of their family, regardless of financial means, who was once arrested on simple possession to be considered with the same weight as someone from a neighborhood who has seen many of their friends and loved ones face significant penalties and discrimination due to their past cannabis crimes,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n A second Senate amendment, which reportedly was introduced to address the governor\u2019s stated concerns, clarified that anyone whose income is more than three times the state\u2019s median income\u2014regardless of criminal record or place of residence\u2014could not qualify for social equity status. But on Wednesday morning, Lamont again\u00a0told reporters that he wouldn\u2019t sign the bill in the form passed by the Senate.<\/p>\n In response, House lawmakers rejected both Senate-approved amendments, essentially returning the bill to the form in which it was originally introduced on Monday<\/a>\u2014then made one additional change.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the governor says he\u2019s going to veto it, I think that was the end of the conversation for a lot of people,\u201d\u00a0House Speaker Matt Ritter (D) said during an early afternoon press briefing. \u201cWe had a deal last week. Let\u2019s honor that. We know it had the votes in the House and Senate and governor will sign it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ritter added that he wasn\u2019t consulted on the Senate\u2019s social equity rule change and didn\u2019t have the chance to evaluate whether House Democrats would support it.<\/p>\n Rojas, for his part,\u00a0acknowledged that while some members of the caucus favor the expanded eligibility, it wasn\u2019t worth risking a standoff with the governor.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly there\u2019s still a desire on the part of some of my colleagues to include on that definition,\u201d he said, \u201cbut we want to go back and live up to the deal that we had with the governor when we originally came to that agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n After stripping the Senate changes, House lawmakers added back in a Senate-passed provision that bars legislators, statewide elected officials, cannabis regulators and members of the social equity board from participating in the cannabis industry for two years after leaving government. That restriction was introduced in response to Republican concerns that legalization would otherwise create opportunities for officials to benefit themselves by entering an industry they previously influenced.<\/p>\n Despite the flurry of activity on the latest proposal, much of the nearly 300-page bill\u00a0resembles a legalization measure that passed the Senate last week<\/a>, which went on to stall on the House floor<\/a> during the final hours of the regular session. That measure was pitched by Democratic legislative leaders as a compromise incorporating elements of both Lamont\u2019s own legalization proposal, which advanced through two legislative committees<\/a>\u00a0this year, as well as\u00a0an equity-focused legalization bill<\/a> by Rep. Robyn Porter (D).<\/p>\n The current bill,\u00a0SB 1201<\/a>, was originally introduced Monday by Ritter and Senate President Martin Looney (D).<\/p>\n Here are some key details of the current legalization proposal:<\/strong><\/p>\n House lawmakers rejected a number of proposed amendments to the bill, mostly offered by Republicans. One would have made multiple major changes, for example increasing the legal age for cannabis from 21 to 25, extending the ban on state employees working in the marijuana industry, striking the bill\u2019s labor provisions and reducing the THC limit on cannabis products from 60 percent to 30 percent.<\/p>\n Another would have allowed police to search the vehicle of minors if officers notice the smell of marijuana, increased penalties for delivering cannabis to minors and removed a provision in the bill that prohibits law enforcement from stopping drivers merely for suspecting they might be consuming cannabis.<\/p>\n A third rejected amendment would have done away with regulated sales and government oversight of marijuana. It sought to replace the entire bill with language removing existing state laws against cannabis use, possession, cultivation and sales, while also expunging past convictions. \u201cThe goal here is to legalize recreational marijuana,\u201d said Rep. Doug Dubitsky (R), the proposal\u2019s lead sponsor. \u201cThis is your vehicle to do it. That\u2019s all it does.\u201d<\/p>\n Other GOP lawmakers disagreed on the change, however, with Rep. David Rutigliano (R) saying he\u2019s supportive of personal possession and use but is against commercialization of the drug.<\/p>\n An amendment from Democratic Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, co-chair of the House Public Health Committee, would have removed the allowance for home cannabis cultivation by patients and adult consumers. \u201cA truly successful cannabis program would ensure virtually everything consumed in Connecticut would be Connecticut-grown and -regulated,\u201d the lawmaker contended. \u201cThe Connecticut brand would stand for product consistency, safety, transparency and integrity. People would be able to trust what they buy, because the state of Connecticut stands behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n After it became clear it wouldn\u2019t be adopted, however, Steinberg withdrew the proposal.<\/p>\n \u2014 Despite his veto threat, Lamont has been broadly supportive of legalization. Last week he told reporters that he has \u201ca strong point of view to do whatever it takes to get this over the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAround the country, we have red states and blue states that are passing this and doing it on a very careful, regulated way\u2014and I think we\u2019re ready to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor also said last month that if a legalization measure isn\u2019t enacted this year, the issue could ultimately go before voters.<\/p>\n \u201cMarijuana is sort of interesting to me. When it goes to a vote of the people through some sort of a referendum, it passes overwhelmingly. When it goes through a legislature and a lot of telephone calls are made, it\u2019s slim or doesn\u2019t pass,\u201d the governor said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to do it through the legislature. Folks are elected to make a decision, and we\u2019ll see where it goes. If it doesn\u2019t, we\u2019ll probably end up in a referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n Ritter said late last month that he feels there\u2019s a\u00a057-43 chance that the legislation is approved<\/a>, whereas he\u00a0previously gave it a 50-50 chance<\/a>.<\/p>\n He last year that if the legislature isn\u2019t able to pass a legalization bill, he will move to put\u00a0a question on the state\u2019s 2022 ballot that would leave the matter to voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to recent polling, if legalization did go before voters, it would pass.\u00a0Sixty-four percent of residents in the state favor legalizing cannabis<\/a> for adult use, according to a survey from Sacred Heart University released last month.<\/p>\n The legislature has considered legalization proposals on several occasions in recent years, including a bill that Democrats\u00a0introduced last year on the governor\u2019s behalf<\/a>. Those bills stalled, however.<\/p>\n Lamont\u00a0reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana<\/a>\u00a0during his annual State of the State address in January, stating that he would be working with the legislature to advance the reform this session.<\/p>\n The governor has compared the\u00a0need for regional coordination on marijuana policy<\/a>\u00a0to the coronavirus response, stating that officials have \u201cgot to think regionally when it comes to how we deal with the pandemic\u2014and I think we have to think regionally when it comes to marijuana, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile in neighboring Rhode Island, a legislative committee on Monday\u00a0approved a marijuana legalization bill<\/a>\u00a0backed by Senate leadership in that state.<\/p>\n Louisiana Governor Says Marijuana Legalization Will Likely Happen In His State\u2014But Not While He\u2019s In Office<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Connecticut House Approves Marijuana Legalization With Amendments, Sending Bill Back To Senate<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Legislation to legalize cannabis in Connecticut passed the state\u2019s House of Representatives on a 76\u201362 vote on Wednesday following hours of floor debate. The measure now returns to the Senate for approval of changes made by the House to address a last-minute veto threat from Gov. Ned Lamont (D). IfContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":48304,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48305,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48303\/revisions\/48305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Connecticut House Approves Marijuana Legalization With Amendments, Sending Bill Back To Senate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"