All posts in Connecticut News

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) – New laws went into effect on Friday, Oct. 1. Pedestrian crossing A new pedestrian law expands the circumstances where drivers must yield the right-of-way to people at marked and unmarked crosswalks that are not controlled by traffic signals or police officers. Previously, the law said a driver must yield to a pedestrian, slowing or stopping as necessary, if the pedestrian has stepped off the curb or into a crosswalk. Under the new law: …a driver must “slow or stop as necessary if the pedestrian (1) is within any portion of the crosswalk; (2) steps to the…

Patients who are registered with the state’s medical cannabis access program may now legally grow cannabis for their own personal use. Under the new law, which took effect today, qualified patients ages 18 and older are permitted to grow up to six cannabis plants in their homes. Households with more than one qualified patient may home cultivate a maximum of 12 plants. Over 54,000 residents are currently registered with state regulators to possess and access medical cannabis. Previously, patients were prohibited from growing their own cannabis and were required to obtain marijuana from one of the state’s limited number of licensed…

A variety of new laws take effect Oct. 1, 2021 in Connecticut. By Hugh McQuaid,CTNewsJunkie.com New laws taking effect in Connecticut Friday will give pedestrians safer options in crosswalks, medical marijuana patients the right to grow cannabis plants in their homes, and alcohol consumers a new fee on nips. Those are a few of the changes Oct. 1 will bring as a handful of bills or provisions of new laws go into effect on Friday. Among the new statutes are elements of sweeping legislation designed to protect pedestrians and cyclists on Connecticut roads. Crosswalks One element of that bill taking…

(Getty Images) Cannabis use has not increased in the states where it has been legalised, according to a new study. In an article published by The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers said there was no increase in marijuana use in the general population or among previous users when it became legal where they lived. The study asked 830,000 Americans over the age of 12 about their cannabis use, before and after it became legalised in their home state. It looked at data from 2008 to 2017. Washington state and Colorado, which became the first two US states to…

SOUTHBURY — Southbury has followed the lead of other Connecticut municipalities by placing a temporary ban on cannabis establishments. After hearing from Southbury residents, the Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the moratorium last month. The moratorium allows the town to defer to June any decisions on regulations and pot shops. According to the minutes of the special meeting, Zoning Commission Chairman Gary Giroux said a nine-month moratorium is in place, allowing the commission time to write regulations and determine where retailers could set up in town. “This moratorium allows us to take our time do the research and produce…

Connecticut Beverage Mart (CTNewsJunkie / file photo) New laws taking effect in Connecticut Friday will give pedestrians safer options in crosswalks, medical marijuana patients the right to grow cannabis plants in their homes, and alcohol consumers a new fee on nips. Those are a few of the changes Oct. 1 will bring as a handful of bills or provisions of new laws go into effect on Friday. Among the new statutes are elements of sweeping legislation designed to protect pedestrians and cyclists on Connecticut roads.  Crosswalks One element of that bill taking effect will change how pedestrians interact with motorists…

Last year, according to data the FBI published this week, police in the United States made about 350,000 arrests for marijuana offenses, the lowest level recorded in three decades. The 36 percent drop in 2020, which follows an 18 percent decrease in 2019, reflects the impact of ballot initiatives and legislation that eliminated penalties for low-level possession last year or earlier. It may also reflect the impact of COVID-19 restrictions that drove cannabis consumers indoors, where they were less likely to be noticed by police. As usual, the vast majority of marijuana arrests in 2020 (91 percent) were for simple…

Washington, DC: The estimated number of persons arrested in the United States for violating marijuana laws declined precipitously in 2020, according to data released this week by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.  According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, police made an estimated 350,150 arrests for marijuana-related violations in 2020. This total is a 36 percent decrease from 2019, when police made an estimated 545,602 marijuana-related arrests. Not since the early 1990s has the FBI reported so few marijuana-related arrests in a single year. Marijuana arrests are down more than 50 percent from their peak in 2008, when police made over 800,000 marijuana-related…