fbpx
Everything to know about Connecticut cannabis license options

Everything to know about Connecticut cannabis license options

Connecticut cannabis license types

After a meeting of the Connecticut Social Equity Council (SEC) in the first week of January, regulators have announced that the Connecticut cannabis license process will begin in February.

The legislation which legalized cannabis in the state has a condition in its copy that the Connecticut cannabis license process could not start until the SEC approved a technical assistance plan for the cannabis industry. The approved plan will include outreach and providing resources to people interested in participating in the legal cannabis market.

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced on Twitter that they will begin accepting applications for certain adult-use cannabis establishment licenses in 30 days. The DCP also will announce the specific number of Connecticut cannabis licenses will be available for each establishment type.

Each cannabis license type will be released for applicants at different times. This time frame is planned for February to the final week of March, and will operate under two lottery systems.

The first lottery will be specifically for social equity applicants, who will have first access to applications on February 3rd. To be a social equity applicant there must be at least 65% ownership or control of the business by individuals who “meet the income and residency requirements for a social equity applicant outlined in the law,” DCP said in a press release.

Individuals who fall under the “Disproportionately Impacted Areas” category have the option to pay $3 million and skip the lottery system altogether.

The other Connecticut cannabis license lottery is for general applicants. These license types include retailers, micro-cultivators, delivery services, transporters and more. From February 3 to March 24 there will be a 90-day application period with each license being released at a different period throughout the process.

Connecticut cannabis license types and application dates

The DCP released every Connecticut cannabis license type and how many applications will be available for the general and social equity lotteries. Here are the various types and how many licenses will be released.

Disproportionately Impacted Area Cultivator: February 3, 2022 (non-lottery)

 

Retailer: February 3

6 general licenses, 6 social equity licenses

Micro-cultivator: February 10

2 general licenses, 5 social equity licenses

Delivery Service: February 17

5 general licenses, 5 social equity licenses

Hybrid Retailer: February 24

2 general licenses, 2 social equity licenses

Food and Beverage: March 3

5 general licenses, 5 social equity licenses

Product Manufacturer: March 10

3 general licenses, 3 social equity licenses

Product Packager: March 17

3 general licenses, 3 social equity licenses

Transporter: March 24

2 general licenses, 2 social equity licenses

In a DCP press release, Commissioner Michelle Seagull said, “This work by the Social Equity Council is a critical step in the licensure process for the emerging Adult-Use cannabis market in Connecticut and will be instrumental in ensuring the equity goals established in the law are met.”

Seagull explained that the initial number of available Connecticut cannabis licenses is not meant to be a cap, but,”a starting point for opening the adult-use cannabis market in an effective, measured and thoughtful way,” she said.

Everything to Know about Connecticut Cannabis Legalization

Everything to Know about Connecticut Cannabis Legalization

Connecticut cannabis legalization starts July 1st

Connecticut cannabis legalization has been signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont, setting the date for the law to take effect on July 1, 2021.

Connecticut joins 19 other states plus the District of Columbia in legalizing adult use recreational cannabis after the state legislature passed multiple revised versions of the Connecticut cannabis legalization bill, finally sitting at over 300 pages.

While Connecticut will follow in the steps of other states in regards to some popular aspects of cannabis legalization, such as expungement of criminal records for cannabis and setting up enforcement for intoxicated driving, they are also adding some of their own changes.

Cannabis may be officially legal in Connecticut starting July 1st, but that doesn’t mean dispensaries will be open by then, or that consumers will even be able to purchase cannabis legally. Here’s everything to know about what actually changes when Connecticut cannabis legalization takes effect on July 1st.

When Connecticut cannabis legalization takes effect

Cannabis legalization takes effect in Connecticut on July 1st, 2021. This means that all rules and regulations proposed in the legislation signed by the governor will be official on that date.

Cannabis possession limits

The new law will allow and individual to possess up to 1.5 ounces on their person, and up to 5 ounces in a locked container, glove box or trunk of a car.

Home growing

Home growing is permitted in the Connecticut cannabis legalization bill, however it will not be allowed immediately. The bill says anyone 21 and older can grow up to six plants in their home (three mature and three immature plants) as of July 1, 2023. Households can grow no more than 12 cannabis plants at any given time.

In other words, while cannabis use and possession will be legal in 2021, home growing will not be allowed until 2023.

Cannabis consumption

Smoking cannabis would generally not be allowed in places where cigarette smoke is already prohibited, including restaurants, health care facilities, state or municipal buildings and most workplaces.

The use of cannabis is banned in state parks, with $250 fines for offenders. Hotels are also required to prohibit guests from smoking cannabis, but they cannot ban possession and use of other forms of the drug in nonpublic areas. Cannabis use is illegal in motor vehicles by both drivers and passengers as well.

When dispensaries will open

The Connecticut cannabis legalization bill does not include a specific date in which dispensaries will be permitted to open. Legislators have said that May 2022 is the current deadline for allowing dispensaries to being operations. However due to the legislation being delayed and approved late in the legislative session, this deadline could end up being pushed further.

Connecticut cannabis business licensing

Business licensing for dispensaries or grow operations will be given out in a lottery system. Fees to enter the lottery for a license range from $250 for a food and beverage manufacturer or delivery license to $1,000 for a cultivator license.

If an applicant is selected, additional licensing fees must be paid. Half of the licenses would be reserved for “social equity applicants” that come from economically disadvantaged areas that have been most harmed by the war on drugs. Those applicants would pay reduced licensing fees.

Businesses involved in the state’s existing medical marijuana program could pay to enter the recreational market, with fees ranging between $1 million and $3 million.

Cannabis taxes

Connecticut expects to pull in over $26 million in tax revenue in its first full year of operation, which will start July 1, 2022 and end June 30, 2023. Currently cannabis sales will be subject to the state sales tax of 6.35%, with additional state and municipal cannabis taxes that have yet to be finalized.

The state anticipates over $76 million in revenue by the end of 2026.

Resolving prior cannabis convictions

Who is eligible to have a prior conviction expunged depends on the specific charge and when the individual was charged. People charged with possession of 4 ounces or less of cannabis before Jan. 1, 2000, or from Oct. 1, 2015 through June 30, 2021, can petition a court beginning July 1, 2022, to have their criminal record erased.

Those charged with that same offense from Jan. 1, 2000, through Sept. 30, 2015, will have their records automatically erased on Jan. 1, 2023. More serious marijuana charges would not be eligible for erasure.

Conclusion

Connecticut cannabis legalization follows in the footsteps of other legal states when it comes to some of their regulations, while making their own rules in regards to other aspects of the industry. The final bill approved by the governor went through numerous revisions, which is can be seen as a sign that the legislators does not have a hardened, solid plan for implementing a legal industry.

Setting a deadline for 2023 will allow the state to thoroughly plan and establish an adult use cannabis industry, giving more time to focus on the application and licensing process, one of the most common roadblocks that cause issues in a new cannabis industry. Issues will likely arise when individuals can possess cannabis, but cannot grow it themselves or buy it from a licensed dispensary for two years. With no access to legal cannabis many will resort to the black market to obtain their cannabis, which is completely unregulated, and potentially harmful to consumers.

The District of Columbia resolved this same issue by creating a gift/donation grey market for cannabis. Due to a rider in the District’s legalization bill, no government funds can be used to establish a recreational cannabis industry, leaving consumers to “gift” cannabis to each other in exchange for a “donation”, skirting around the legal language of the bill.

It is likely that we see a similar trend develop over the next year in Connecticut as consumers seek out reliable cannabis without access to legal dispensaries.

Connecticut Cannabis Legalization Bill Headed to Governor

Connecticut Cannabis Legalization Bill Headed to Governor

Connecticut cannabis legalization has been passed in the senate
Connecticut has become the latest U.S. state to pass legislation authorizing adult recreational use of marijuana. Washington D.C., Guam, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island have also legalized adult recreational use.

On Thursday, the state’s legislature voted to broaden its policy that so far has limited use of the drug for medical purposes. Gov. Ned Lamont, who helped introduce the bill, is expected to sign the bill into law.

“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 in a statement on 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.”

Under Senate Bill 1201, approved by the state’s senate on Thursday, slated to become effective on July 1, adults 21 and older can legally purchase and possess marijuana for recreational use. Individual possession limits are capped at 1.5 ounces of cannabis or equivalent cannabis concentrate, with up to 5 ounces of cannabis or equivalent cannabis concentrate permitted in a locked container.

Recreational retail sales are not scheduled to begin until May of next year, according to the measure. And residents looking to grow marijuana plants for their own recreational use will have to wait to do so until 2023. Home cultivation for authorized medical patients can begin as soon as October this year.

In February, Lamont published revenue projections estimating that sales from an adult-use cannabis program starting in May 2022 would generate tax revenues of approximately $33.6 million by fiscal year 2023. According to the estimate, that number would jump to $97 million by fiscal year 2026.

The vote by Connecticut’s lawmakers comes amid a wave of recent state legalizations, including by regional neighbors New Jersey and New York, and others still scheduled to take effect this year.

New Jersey residents officially voted to legalize recreational weed beginning January 1. New York followed and green-lighted adult use on March 31.

Connecticut Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill

Connecticut Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill

Connecticut cannabis legalization has passed in the Senate

The Connecticut Senate early Tuesday morning passed a bill to legalize marijuana, sending the proposal to the House for final approval with just days left in the legislative session.

House leaders say they plan to take up the legislation in that chamber before Wednesday’s end-of-session deadline but after first tackling the state budget.

The cannabis bill is the product of weeks of negotiations between legislative leaders and Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) office. Finalized language was introduced only on Saturday, giving lawmakers little time to review the roughly 300-page proposal.

But during a marathon floor debate that stretched into the early hours Tuesday morning, the Senate passed the bill in a 19–17 vote.

“We have seen what has been wrought by having a war on drugs,” Sen. Gary Winfield (D) said on the floor before the vote. “Whole communities have been decimated. And some people will say, ‘Well, there are not a lot of people in our state in jail for cannabis today,’ but there are vestigial ways in which communities are still impacted by what we were doing.”

Noting that cannabis was once available in American apothecaries, Winfield ran through the history of the drug war and argued that marijuana prohibition’s racist origins and consequences continue to be felt in Connecticut today.

“The reason I think we should legalize cannabis is not because of the money—that’s an important part of this,” he added, “but because we should have never made cannabis an illegal drug. It should never have been prohibited. It should never have been a Schedule I drug, particularly given how it got there.”

Asked whether there will be enough support in the House to pass the measure, Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D) said earlier Monday that he believes the votes will be there—but he’s “still answering lots of questions” from members about specific provisions.

“I’m confident that we’ll get there,” he said.

House Speaker Matt Ritter (D) added that “we do expect it to pass.”

“We don’t think we’ll have 97 votes,” he said, referring to the total number of Democratic members in the Connecticut body. “We understand there will be noes in our caucus … But we’ve heard from a few people on the other side of the aisle too that have had a chance to digest and stuff, and I would say there’s a few people involved in conversations there too.”