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June 17, 2021

Lamont pledges to sign recreational marijuana bill after Senate approval

PHOTO | YEHYUN KIM/CTMIRROR.ORG Medical marijuana grower CTPharma Solutions recently relocated to a larger facility in Rocky Hill so it can expand its capacity.
By Sean Teehan

Connecticut's state Senate Thursday morning passed a measure legalizing the recreational use and retail sale of cannabis, setting the stage for a new industry in the Constitution State.

The state House of Representatives passed the legalization bill yesterday, and it now heads to the desk of Gov. Ned Lamont, who said he will sign the legislation.

“It’s fitting that the bill legalizing the adult use of cannabis and addressing the injustices caused by the war of drugs received final passage today, on the 50-year anniversary of President Nixon declaring the war,” Lamont said Thursday. “The war on cannabis, which was at its core a war on people in Black and Brown communities, not only caused injustices and increased disparities in our state, it did little to protect public health and safety. … I look forward to signing the bill and moving beyond this terrible period of incarceration and injustice.”
 

The bill, which is sponsored by Senate President Martin Looney and House Speaker Matt Ritter, passed the Senate and House of Representatives by margins of 16-11 and 76-62, respectively. The legislation legalizes marijuana possession of up to one and a half ounces for adults 21 and over. The bill will go into effect on July 1, 2021, with legal sales anticipated by May 2022. Adults will be allowed to securely cultivate cannabis at home starting July 1, 2023. 

Connecticut will become the 19th state in the U.S., and the fourth state in New England to fully legalize the drug. 

The bill envisions marijuana as a major industry in Connecticut, which already has four commercial growers of cannabis for medical use. Commercial production licenses for the recreational market would cost as much as $3 million, while the fee for a micro-cultivator would be $1,000.

Questions of social equity and licensing preferences have overshadowed other aspects of legalization — and nearly derailed a compromise bill produced by months of painstaking negotiations led by House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, and Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven.


The regular annual session ended last week without the House voting on a bill passed by the Senate on the second-to-last day, prompting the special session.

Winfield unexpectedly amended the bill in the Senate on Tuesday, inserting language sought by Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, among others, to benefit license applicants who had a criminal record for marijuana — including a prominent advocate, Jason Ortiz.

Half of all licenses will be reserved for social-equity applicants.

Lamont’s staff notified the Senate that Winfield’s amendment reneged on the deal and undermined the bill’s provisions on social equity, which were intended to benefit applicants from poor and urban neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. 

House members on Wednesday rejected Winfield's amendment before passing it, and sending it back to the upper chamber. Winfield was among the "Yes" votes in the Senate Thursday.

Material from the Connecticut Mirror was used in this report
 

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