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EAST LYME – Both candidates for First Selectman of East Lyme agree that the voters should decide in a referendum whether to allow marijuana dispensaries in town, but Democratic candidate Camille Alberti said she doesn’t believe the town needs to impose a moratorium in the meantime. Selectman Kevin Seery, who is running as the Republican candidate to replace outgoing First Selectman Mark Nickerson, said the “pause” on marijuana dispensaries that the Board of Selectmen is considering would give the town a chance to take a good look at how the town wants to handle the new businesses.  “We understand marijuana…

A deal on a bill to legalize marijuana in Rhode Island is finally coming together, legislative leaders said this week. While there are still certain outstanding issues to resolve such as which agency should be tasked with regulating the market, lawmakers have made significant progress and have reached compromises on a number of topics, Sen. Josh Miller (D), sponsor of one legalization proposal, said during a panel hosted by Johnson & Wales University. Miller warned that he couldn’t be especially specific on details given that negotiations are ongoing, but he expressed optimism that legislators are nearing an agreement. One issue…

A deal on a bill to legalize marijuana in Rhode Island is finally coming together, legislative leaders said this week. While there are still certain outstanding issues to resolve such as which agency should be tasked with regulating the market, lawmakers have made significant progress and have reached compromises on a number of topics, Sen. Josh Miller (D), sponsor of one legalization proposal, said during a panel hosted by Johnson & Wales University. Miller warned that he couldn’t be especially specific on details given that negotiations are ongoing, but he expressed optimism that legislators are nearing an agreement. One issue…

The Democratic leader of a key U.S. Senate committee on Monday released the text of legislation that, if enacted, would finally allow Washington, D.C. to legalize recreational marijuana sales—in contravention of the wishes of President Joe Biden. The new bills and attached report language announced by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), which are part of a package of legislation to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2022, also contain several additional cannabis-related provisions. Among others, they would continue an existing protection for state medical marijuana laws, call on the federal government to reconsider policies that fire employees…

News 12 Staff Oct 19, 2021, 12:09pm Updated on: Oct 19, 2021, 12:09pm Medical marijuana recipients are now allowed to purchase more from dispensaries around Connecticut. The Department of Consumer Protection announced there are new rules for the nearly 54,000 medical marijuana patients in Connecticut, including an increase of how much they can buy at a dispensary.   Medical marijuana recipients can now buy up to 3 ounces per month, up from 2.5 ounces.   The marijuana will not be taxed like recreational cannabis, which is legal now but won’t be available for purchase until 2022. The state is also now allowing patients to use any of…

News 12 Staff Oct 19, 2021, 12:09pm Updated on: Oct 19, 2021, 12:09pm Medical marijuana recipients are now allowed to purchase more from dispensaries around Connecticut. The Department of Consumer Protection announced there are new rules for the nearly 54,000 medical marijuana patients in Connecticut, including an increase of how much they can buy at a dispensary.   Medical marijuana recipients can now buy up to 3 ounces per month, up from 2.5 ounces.   The marijuana will not be taxed like recreational cannabis, which is legal now but won’t be available for purchase until 2022. The state is also now allowing patients to use any of…

Now legal to consume for adults, the law will allow cities and towns to amend zoning regulations and/or ordinances to regulate, or prohibit, “cannabis establishments,” retail stores that sell marijuana and marijuana products. The coalition of volunteers, whose mission is to help reduce teen drug and alcohol use, wrote to the Board of Selectmen last summer to request the town ban the retail sale of cannabis, slated to be available across the state come next spring. Selectmen held a public hearing Monday and after, adopted the ordinance, which does not outright prohibit cannabis establishments, but rather gives the town “sufficient…

“There are a ton of paper records. Courts we know are dealing with that in various ways.” By Alexander Lekhtman, Filter Nearly five years after California voters legalized marijuana, potentially hundreds of thousands of residents still have publicly available cannabis-related criminal records that the law requires to be sealed—even though the state passed a bill to address this three years ago. While this continues, people’s cannabis convictions can still be searched by employers and police, leaving them vulnerable to discrimination and targeting. Former Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1793 into law in September 2018. Known as the “Bonta bill,” after its…