Connecticut’s cannabis regulatory agency announced last week that it is increasing the amount of cannabis that can be bought in a single transaction by doubling the state’s limit on recreational marijuana purchases. Under the new regulations approved by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), adult-use cannabis consumers will be permitted to purchase up to a half-ounce (about 14 grams) of cannabis flower or its equivalent beginning next month. 

The limit on purchases of medical marijuana has not been changed. It remains at 5 ounces of cannabis flower or the equivalent monthly, with no limits on purchases in a single transaction.

The DCP noted in a statement that the decision to increase the limit on adult-use cannabis purchases was made based on an ongoing analysis of supply and demand in Connecticut’s regulated cannabis market. The agency also said that the limit will continue to be reviewed over time, adding that the caps are in place to help ensure an adequate supply of cannabis for both adult-use consumers and medical marijuana patients.

“DCP has continually reviewed available supply and demand since prior to the launch of the adult-use cannabis industry in January 2023,” DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement from the agency. “As more retailers, production companies and other supply chain licensees have come online, the capacity of the industry has increased. We are confident this measured approach to adult-use sales has resulted in a healthy market for businesses, and a safe and fair marketplace for adult-use cannabis consumers and medical marijuana patients.”

Connecticut Legalized Weed Two Years Ago

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in June 2021, ending the prohibition on possession of cannabis by adults 21 and older and creating a framework for regulated adult-use cannabis sales. Regulated sales of adult-use cannabis began in January and already generate about $25 million in weed sales each month.

Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis legalization statute tasks the DPC with regulating the production and sale of marijuana in the state. Under rules adopted by the agency before the launch of adult-use cannabis sales, purchases of adult-use cannabis were limited to a quarter-ounce (about 7 grams) of marijuana per transaction. The DPC’s change last week doubles the cap, allowing adult-use cannabis consumers to purchase up to a half-ounce of cannabis flower or the equivalent beginning on December 1, 2023.

The DCP noted that different types of cannabis products can be purchased together up to a total of a half-ounce of flower or the equivalent. Examples of what might make up a half-ounce of cannabis flower or the equivalent were also given via the following table:

• Up to 14 pre-rolled cigarettes that weigh 1 gram each, or 28 pre-rolled cigarettes that weigh 0.5 grams each. Or any combination up to 14 total grams, which equals 1/2 ounce.
• Four to eight vape cartridges, which come in .5 mL and 1 mL sizes.
• Edibles vary by type and size. A standard-sized brownie or cookie can be the equivalent of .08 grams of cannabis flower. One edible serving cannot have more than 5 milligrams of THC.
• A combination of different product types that collectively amount to no more than 1/2 of an ounce.

The law limits possession of cannabis to 1.5 ounces of flower by adults aged 21 and older. Adults may also store up to 5 ounces of cannabis in a locked container at home or transport it in a vehicle’s locked glovebox or trunk.

About 20 cannabis dispensaries have begun sales of recreational weed so far, including hybrid stores that sell both medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis. Last month, the DCP said that about 100 cannabis-related businesses including cultivators, packagers, shippers, and dispensaries were in the process of being licensed, including 46 recreational or hybrid dispensaries.

“There’s about 100 businesses somewhere in that licensing pipeline right now that are expected to open in the next year” throughout the state, Cafferelli said last month.

The post Connecticut To Double Limit on Weed Purchases appeared first on High Times.

The post Connecticut To Double Limit on Weed Purchases appeared first on Paradise Found.

Local news station WFSB reports that the facility, which is being built in New Britain, Connecticut, will be “close to five schools, some of which are less than a mile away.”

Locals in New Britain are concerned about that proximity, citing the expected odor from the new cultivation center. 

“How should we explain to our children who want to play outside what that smell is? How should the teachers at [the schools] explain to their students that the city is more concerned with revenue than their own health and wellbeing,” New Britain resident Shelley Vincenzo told the station. 

“I’m not against marijuana, we know the goods and the bad for it. What I’m against is having that kind of establishment in a community that’s been trying to thrive and trying to build into something that’s better than marijuana,” said Franciso Santiago, also of New Britain, as quoted by WFSB.

But all those objections are apparently moot, as “the proposal still passed with the amendment that the developers must install and maintain an odor control mitigation system approved by the department of public health.”

The construction developer behind the project “says an odor control plan will be submitted to the city,” according to the station.

Legal recreational cannabis sales kicked off in Connecticut last month after the state’s Democratic governor, Ned Lamont, signed legislation ending the prohibition on pot back in 2021. The Associated Press reported that state-approved “shops in Branford, Meriden, Montville, New Haven, Newington, Stamford and Willimantic were expected to open their doors to the general public on the first day,” with another two dispensaries “in Danbury and Torrington” slated to open later.

“That’s why I introduced a bill and worked hard with our partners in the legislature and other stakeholders to create a comprehensive framework for a securely regulated market that prioritizes public health, public safety, social justice, and equity. It will help eliminate the dangerous unregulated market and support a new, growing sector of our economy which will create jobs,” Lamont said in a statement at the time of the bill signing. “By allowing adults to possess cannabis, regulating its sale and content, training police officers in the latest techniques of detecting and preventing impaired driving, and expunging the criminal records of people with certain cannabis crimes, we’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities, we’re keeping Connecticut economically competitive with our neighboring states.” 

On the day that legal sales began in Connecticut last month, Lamont said that it marked “a turning point in the injustices caused by the war on drugs, most notably now that there is a legal alternative to the dangerous, unregulated, underground market for cannabis sales.”

In addition to laying the groundwork for a regulated retail cannabis market, the new law put thousands of Connecticut adults on the road to having their records cleared.

Lamont announced in December that about 44,000 individuals would be getting their low-level marijuana convictions expunged in the new year.

“On January 1, thousands of people in Connecticut will have low-level cannabis convictions automatically erased due to the cannabis legalization bill we enacted last year,” Lamont said. “Especially as Connecticut employers seek to fill hundreds of thousands of job openings, an old conviction for low-level cannabis possession should not hold someone back from pursuing their career, housing, professional, and educational aspirations.”

The post Connecticut Locals Protest Cannabis Facility Near Schools appeared first on High Times.

The post Connecticut Locals Protest Cannabis Facility Near Schools appeared first on Paradise Found.

The Connecticut General Assembly proposed Raised Bill No. 5329 last month, which seeks to address the loophole of “gifting” cannabis. If passed, the new bill would charge $10,000 for violations for public gifting parties. A General Law Committee held a public meeting on March 8 to discuss the bill, which brought advocates to share their concerns on the matter.

Recreational cannabis was passed in June 2021 with the signature of Governor Ned Lamont, with plans to begin statewide sales by the end of 2022. However, some advocates in Connecticut are claiming that the new bill is an attempt to re-criminalize cannabis before the program has even had a chance to fully launch. The bill’s text states that “no person shall gift, sell or transfer cannabis to another person,” and that cannabis cannot be exchanged as a donation, entry to an event, through a giveaway, and not at any location that isn’t a licensed cannabis dispensary.

One cannabis business owner, Duncan Markovich, attended a public virtual hearing of the proposal with the General Law Committee and expressed his concerns about the bill. “Some of the language presented in the bill … in fact would re-criminalize this plant and would be a major step backwards for all,” said Markovich. “The citizens of the state of Connecticut and those of us specifically within the cannabis community, culture, advocacy and industry cannot fathom such draconian language around this plant. Enacting a law that criminalizes the giving of any of this plant-based medicine to our fellow family members, friends or even complete strangers is unethical, unfathomable and borderline nefarious.” He also argued that gifting cannabis should be the same as gifting someone produce from a personal vegetable garden.

Another advocate, Justin Welch, who is a member of CT CannaWarriors and the New England Craft Cannabis Alliance, explained his reliance on gifting and his resistance to the bill as well. “I do not deserve to be punished for this, nor does anyone else,” he shared. “For too long now, good people have been persecuted for their involvement with cannabis. The grassroots cannabis community that exists here in Connecticut will not cease to exist, whether you pass this bill or not. Moving forward we need sensible cannabis policy that looks more like a craft beer policy.”

However, there is a defined difference between gifting cannabis to a friend or loved one, and gifting cannabis as free with the purchase of a different item. One example of such gifting has been seen in events such as the “High Bazaar” that was previously held in Hamden, Connecticut, which hosted up to 1,200 visitors every Saturday to enjoy live music and explore local vendors. According to the New Haven Register, an injunction put the High Bazaar to a halt because the event organizers did not have the proper permits.

During the virtual meeting, Representative Michael D’Agostino of Hamden, explained that the newly proposed bill was created to deter large scale gifting, rather than that of personal gifting. “The committee’s intent, with this language, was to really prevent and rein in these retail gifting events that have been occurring in the state, which really are retail events,” D’Agostino said. “They’re just an end run around the permitting and transaction process that we’ve set up through our cannabis laws.”

Connecticuter State Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull echoed that fact as well. “You can’t give it away as part of a broader commercial transaction,” said Seagull. “It has to be a lot more than if you just gave it to a friend.”

The General Law Committee is set to act on this bill proposal by March 22.

Although there has been no confirmation of where the High Bazaar will hold its events in the future, the Hamden mayor’s office hopes that it will find a new place to operate soon. “The administration supports organizations and businesses related to cannabis. We’re welcoming them to Hamden and the only concern about hosting the event at the [previous location] was about safety,” said Sean Grace, Mayor Lauren Garret’s chief of staff. “The events are very successful and they attract a lot of people, so you need the right venue for that.”

The post Connecticut Bill Proposal Draws Criticism for Attempting to Ban Cannabis Gifting appeared first on High Times.

The post Connecticut Bill Proposal Draws Criticism for Attempting to Ban Cannabis Gifting appeared first on Paradise Found.

Starting July 1, it’s legal to possess up to 1.5 ounces. Retail sales are expected to start in May 2022.

The post Connecticut legalizes marijuana, becoming 19th state to regulate adult use appeared first on Leafly.

The post Connecticut legalizes marijuana, becoming 19th state to regulate adult use appeared first on Paradise Found.