All posts in Connecticut News

LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A deadline is looming across New York state. Municipalities have until Dec. 31 to decide if they will allow legalized adult-use recreational marijuana dispensaries and on-site consumption lounges. READ MORE: Connecticut Becomes 19th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana But as CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported Thursday, hundreds of villages, towns, and cities are opting out. Yet another Long Island town, Hempstead, recently announced it will opt out of dispensaries, as the year-end deadline nears. As is Long Beach, citing a lack of guidance from the state. “The state doesn’t really know what they are doing, either….

New York, NY: Lawyers are petitioning the Supreme Court to rule on the issue of whether employees can be reimbursed for their medical marijuana-related costs through their workers’ compensation insurance plans following divergent rulings from various state supreme courts.  A friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief filed on behalf of Empire State NORML and two other groups – the New York City Cannabis Industry Association and the Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry – is urging justices to take the case and to use it as an opportunity to settle broader conflicts between state and federal marijuana laws. The brief reads, “Upholding the supremacy of…

Connecticut State Police have a message for residents planning a holiday trip — ditch distractions while driving, plan your trip, and never drink and drive. To help with all of the hustle and bustle, the department is offering tips on how to arrive at your safely, and where there will be DUI checkpoints. The tips include: Drive the speed limit. Keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you. Ensure that all passengers are wearing seatbelts. Refrain from texting or using your phone. Never consume alcoholic beverages, marijuana products, or drugs, including medications that could impact…

Michael Cox and his mother, Stephanie Hyman, taken while she was visiting him in prison. Stephanie Hyman / Contributed photo On Nov. 19, the Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Michael Cox — who has failing kidneys but has survived two bouts with COVID-19 since the pandemic began — a commutation, the first it has granted since 2019. Cox, 49, who is serving a 75-year sentence for a string of violent crimes he committed on 1991, pleaded guilty to murder, felony murder, aiding and abetting manslaughter, and second-degree assault with a firearm. Cox has several medical issues such as chronic…

Michael Cox and his mother, Stephanie Hyman, taken while she was visiting him in prison. Stephanie Hyman / Contributed photo On Nov. 19, the Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Michael Cox — who has failing kidneys but has survived two bouts with COVID-19 since the pandemic began — a commutation, the first it has granted since 2019. Cox, 49, who is serving a 75-year sentence for a string of violent crimes he committed on 1991, pleaded guilty to murder, felony murder, aiding and abetting manslaughter, and second-degree assault with a firearm. Cox has several medical issues such as chronic…

Rhode Island’s House speaker says lawmakers are “very close” to introducing a bicameral negotiated marijuana legalization bill, and a top Senate leader saying he’s optimistic that it will pass “overwhelmingly” in both chambers when it comes up for a vote early in 2022. Legislators have been in talks for months to reconcile competing legalization proposals that have been brought forward by the House, Senate and governor’s office. Negotiations have been productive, and draft legislation will be introduced within weeks, “in the month of January,” House Speaker Joseph Sherkarchi (D) told Providence Business News. The bill’s filing “will begin a robust…

There are 17 Hudson Valley towns that have voted to allow marijuana dispensaries in the Hudson Valley. Under legislation passed in New York to legalize recreational marijuana use, local municipalities have the ability to “opt-out” of the law and forbid the sale of pot. Towns, villages, and cities throughout New York have until December 31 to pass legislation that would ban marijuana dispensaries. They can also separately decide whether or not to allow consumption sites, or “pot lounges” within the city limits. Many Hudson Valley towns have already decided to ban the sale of pot, while others have thrown their…

The fight to end the criminalization of psychedelics and give patients access to natural plants and fungi has achieved success in a growing number of cities and states in recent years, and on Thursday the cause got a boost from prominent people in the entertainment and political fields. Musician Melissa Etheridge and criminal justice reform activist Van Jones spoke at an event hosted by the nonprofit group End Well, which focused on how certain psychedelics can help ease in end-of-life anxiety and other mental health conditions. Both Etheridge and Jones spoke about the need to break with the status quo…