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United States: Connecticut Provider Legislative Update 13 September 2021 Shipman & Goodwin LLP To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. Shipman is pleased to share with our Connecticut friends and clients the following summary of relevant legislative developments. Should you need any clarification, we are ready to help. General: Telehealth Expansion–New laws extend last year’s telehealth provisions (which we wrote about here) until June 30, 2023. The laws also (1) expand the types of health professionals authorized to provide telehealth services, (2) expand allowable service delivery of audio-only services, (3) establish requirements…

All 10 of the largest publicly held marijuana multistate operators posted double-digit revenue growth in the quarter ended June 30, but stock prices remained weak as investors grow impatient with the slow pace of federal marijuana legalization efforts. Four of the largest five publicly held MSOs actually made a profit in the quarter, with Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis leading the way with $40.9 million in earnings. Quarter-over-quarter revenue increases ranged from 10% for TerrAscend to 56% for Ayr Wellness. Both companies are based in New York, and part of a group of aggressively expanding MSOs. “The fundamentals remain strong,” said Matt…

WINDHAM — Benjamin Zacks, the chief operating officer of Fine Fettle Dispensary in Connecticut and Massachusetts, said that despite the stigma that has existed around the marijuana business, towns won’t turn down the tax revenue and job opportunities. “I hope, rather than having a gut feeling, towns do their research in understanding what these bring to the town, and do their due diligence, rather than quickly saying no to this,” Zacks said.   Some of the towns Fine Fettle is in aren’t turning down the opportunity. On Aug. 25 the Willimantic Fine Fettle location received a special use permit and zoning…

{{featured_button_text}} In a Sept. 5, Post-Star letter, Al Scoonzarielli of Moreau suggested that we look to Colorado as an example of the benefits that legalized marijuana might bring to New York. Here is what an author of Colorado’s marijuana legalization law, Attorney Robert J. Corry Jr. of Denver, Colorado, has said on that subject. “The inmates are running Colorado’s marijuana asylum. … This industry fouls our planet with chemicals and wasteful growing systems, harms the poor and children, and is dominated by the wealthy and privileged. … The percentage of Colorado’s overall state revenue from marijuana is minuscule. Costs for treatment,…

A bill to legalize the possession of psychedelics in California has been put on pause until next year, but the Senate sponsor says the move is part of the “complicated legislative process” to get reform enacted—and he’s confident it will ultimately prevail. Sen. Scott Wiener (D) submitted in a video message to a psychedelics policy forum led by the Chacruna Institute on Wednesday and discussed the challenges of passing such novel legislation. He said that it took significant compromise both internally and externally to get the bill through the Senate and two Assembly committees before he ultimately decided to temporarily…

NORWICH — With marijuana currently legal to consume for people 21 and older in Connecticut, and sales of recreational marijuana products to be allowed in 2022, many businesses owners want to know any potential impact to them. In Norwich Wednesday, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut held their “Business Breakfast and Mini-Expo: The Business of Cannabis” event. Three people spoke, with Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull gave an overview about the state law, Suisman Shapiro Attorney Kyle Zrenda spoke about legal matters related to legalization, and Kurt Smith, business line manager for Fuss & O’Neil talked about…

A board member and former chairman of the federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is sharply criticizing Congress for failing to reform marijuana laws, and he announced on Thursday that he will be taking steps to push lawmakers to enact policy changes to help financial institutions and stakeholders caught in the federal-state cannabis conundrum. NCUA’s Rodney Hood said at the PBC Conference that he’s “concerned that the legal and regulatory infrastructure surrounding the cannabis industry is not evolving quickly enough,” and congressional inaction is largely to blame. He also said that he feels legalization at the federal level is an…

Michelle Seagull, the state’s commissioner for the Department of Consumer Protection, told the assembled audience at a business breakfast hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut that the state still has many details to iron out before opening up applications for marijuana licenses.  In comments to CT Examiner, Seagull suggested that a timeline originally anticipated by legislators for sales to begin next summer would likely be delayed until the end of next year.   “We’ve been suggesting that there will likely be sales by the end of 2022, and we’re still aspiring for that,” Seagull told CT Examiner. “Obviously,…