Connecticut has launched a webpage to help residents and businesses navigate the legalization of cannabis, a multi-year process that has already caused some confusion over when the drug can be legally sold in the state.
The site, ct.gov/cannabis, lays out a timeline for implementation of all provisions contained in a marijuana bill signed by Gov. Ned Lamont last month, starting with legalization of personal use, which went into effect on July 1. As of that date, adults over the age of 21 can possess and use up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and store up to 5 ounces of the drug in a locked container at home or in a locked glove box in a motor vehicle.
Retail sales, on the other hand, are not expected to begin until late 2022.
“We know the public will have a lot of questions about this process in the coming months, and this website will be an important resource for people who have questions about the new law or who might be interested in starting a new business in this market,” Lamont said Monday.
The site has already been used to advise businesses that they can no longer sell hemp or hemp-derived products containing more than 0.3% THC, the main psychoactive component in the cannabis plant, without a license. The marijuana legalization law expanded the definition of THC to include cannabis compounds known as delta-7, delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10, which have been gaining popularity because they exert psychoactive effects and are not explicitly banned by federal hemp laws.
Because marijuana sales licenses are not yet available, the change effectively means that vendors will have to dispose of hemp products laced with THC or THC variants.
Michelle H. Seagull, commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection, said Connecticut’s cannabis legislation imposes needed structure on what had been a largely unregulated corner of the hemp business.
A commercial-scale cannabis growing license is expected to cost as much as $3 million when the state’s application process eventually opens. The fee for micro-cultivators would be $1,000.
