With adult-use cannabis sales in Connecticut launching last week, state legislators have introduced a slew of potential changes to the state’s legal marijuana bill, including how the licensing lotteries work.
The 2023 General Assembly session is underway, giving lawmakers a chance to pitch adjustments to Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in 2021.
Among the 17 bills already proposed as of Jan. 18, state Rep. Jason Rojas, D-Manchester, has introduced a bill that would establish a “graduated schedule of license application fees that increase in proportion to the number of license applications that a person submits to participate in the adult-use cannabis market.”
Rojas has said in the past that some legislators were surprised by the number of applications certain lottery winners submitted to secure licensing. The change would make it so repeat submissions would cost more than the previous one.
State Rep. Juan Candelaria, D-New Haven, took it a step further. He has introduced a bill that would make it so that no individual or business entity may file more than one lottery application as part of the lottery.
Here’s a look at other cannabis business-related proposals submitted this week:
- Rojas also submitted a bill that would allow cannabis companies to deduct certain business expenses by cannabis establishments on their state tax returns.
- Another Rojas bill would establish the Office of the Cannabis Ombudsman within the Department of Economic and Community Development. The new office would be led by someone with expertise and experience in the cannabis field to oversee the state’s medicinal and recreational marijuana programs.
- State Rep. Robin Comey, D-Branford, and state Rep. Josh Elliot, D-Hamden, introduced a bill that touches a slew of topics: address quality control and safety issues stemming from the amounts of mold and bacteria that may be present in marijuana; address the mold and bacteria remediation methods currently allowed through the state’s cannabis program; and establish special permits that enable cannabis vendors to sell cannabis at events, among other things.
- Another bill proposed by state Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, D-Groton, and state Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, would permit the establishment of cannabis cafes and restaurants to offer cannabis-infused food items.
Several proposed bills touch on hemp farmers, as well. Hemp farmers in Connecticut have been growing low-THC cannabis for years but haven’t been given an easy pathway towards converting their licenses to also grow recreational marijuana.
Ellio and Comey’s bill would also amend the state’s legal cannabis bill to allow hemp products produced in this state to be sold in dispensaries. State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Norwich, introduced a bill that would allow the same thing.
Further, a bill by state Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Old Saybrook, would enable existing hemp producers to convert their current operations to cannabis cultivation through an expedited process. Osten and state Rep. Tim Ackert, R-Coventry, introduced another bill that would authorize hemp producers to cultivate recreational cannabis.
