All posts in Connecticut News

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — With the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults and the impending start of retail sales next year, several Connecticut coastal towns are saying no, for now. Guilford, Madison and North Branford recently put in place measures that stop cannabis establishments from opening for nine months to a year from now and Clinton has made it unlawful for any building, structure or land to be used as a cannabis establishment, producer, retailer or dispensary, the New Haven Register reported. The law signed in June by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont law allows individuals age 21 and older to…

A leader of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Committee on Children says “not nearly enough” is being done by lawmakers and state regulators to prevent and respond to the abuse of children, following a recent series of allegations involving educators and coaches. State Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, is calling for longer prison terms and tighter supervision requirements for convicted abusers, lengthening the statute of limitations to prosecute mandated reporters who fail to speak up and imposing other measures that she said would allow school administrators and parents to better track signs of abuse. “We can prevent by doing background checks, and…

On the Tuesday before the Halloween weekend, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a troubling consumer alert aimed directly at her state’s parents. New York legalized adult-use cannabis back in March, but there’s still no regulated commercial market. At least part of this void, as James warned, is being filled by cannabis products “deceptively designed to look like standard snack foods and candy.” This is an old phenomenon. Whether categorized as “remix culture” or “logo-jacking” or something else, underground markets of all kinds—fashion, food, music—are full of derivative references to mainstream brands. And cannabis culture has demonstrated a particular…

Despite recreational cannabis becoming legal for adults in Connecticut earlier this summer and setting a timeline for cannabis retail sales to begin by the end of 2022, multiple shoreline towns have taken legislative action to temporarily — or in Clinton’s case, permanently — prohibit cannabis establishments. Guilford, Madison and North Branford recently enacted moratoriums preventing cannabis establishments from opening in town for nine months to a year from now. Clinton, meanwhilem, passed an ordinance prohibiting cannabis-related land use, making it unlawful for any building, structure or land to be used as a cannabis establishment, producer, retailer, dispensary and more. A…

“Please remind your children not to eat anything that isn’t commercially wrapped,” Radikas wrote, “and even then, it’s important to inspect wrapped treats for signs of tampering, such as an unusual appearance or discoloration, tiny pinholes, or tears in wrappers.”

Another Halloween, another ominous warning for little trick-or-treaters and their parents. State attorneys general from Ohio, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, and Arkansas are warning parents about the possibility of marijuana-laced treats being given out to children on Halloween. The concern, this year, appears to be that some cannabis-infused edibles are sold in lookalike packaging that could be confused for regular candy. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong was one of several to release a statement urging parents to pay close attention to their child’s Halloween candy this year. “These look-alike cannabis products are unregulated, unsafe, and illegal. Accidental cannabis overdoses by…

Attorneys general from several states have issued warnings to parents ahead of Halloween about the possibility that their kids could be given marijuana edibles that are packaged to resemble popular candy. The only problem is that these warnings are not based on any actual findings or documented cases, according to Joel Best, an expert who has spent decades researching the topic of trick-or-treaters supposedly being targeted by cruel adults. On Tuesday, attorneys general in Arkansas, Connecticut, New York and Ohio released statements as part of a joint effort to inform parents about the supposed threat of edibles containing THC being…

A former California resident was sentenced this week for trafficking crystal methamphetamine to Connecticut, according to federal prosecutors. Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport sentenced 36-year-old Jason Williams, a citizen of Belize last living in Los Angeles, on Wednesday to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on July 18. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force arrested an individual on Sept. 22, 2020, who had more than 400 grams of crystal meth. Prosecutors said investigators learned the individual got the meth from a tractor-trailer driver who regularly…