All posts in Connecticut News

The Plainfield Police Department is sending its first batch of officers out for drug-testing this month, fulfilling one of the new state requirements set by a sweeping new police accountability bill.  In addition to updated rules concerning body cameras, bias training and use of force, the “Act Concerning Police Accountability” bill, which passed last year, also authorizes the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, or POSTC, to require all police officers to pass a urinalysis drug test as part of a condition for renewal of officer certification. POSTC certification occurs every three years for an officer and is required for continued…

PLAINVILLE – Interim Police Chief Eric Peterson has identified his goals for the Plainville Police Department going forward. Peterson, who was appointed to the interim chief position last Thursday, said his goals are to train officers on body cameras, getting the department fully staffed, working with the town council on the town’s marijuana policy and increasing patrols to better prevent car thefts and break-ins. Peterson said the police department has been outfitted with body cameras for the past three months. A state grant covered 30% of the costs. “We will begin training in two weeks,” Peterson said. “By October, they…

By Eric O’Connell/Zip06.com • 09/07/2021 12:15 p.m. EST Now that the State Legislature voted to legalize adult recreational cannabis use, Clinton’s Planning & Zoning commission (PZC) will hold a public hearing on Monday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. over proposed zoning regulations that would allow a marijuana retail store in Clinton. A large crowd is expected. Earlier this summer, Connecticut legislators passed a bill that legalized recreational marijuana use by adults in the state. At a PZC meeting on July 12, consultant planner John Guszkowski told the commission members that it is now up to the local zoning authorities to…

A pair of research projects funded by $20 million in tax revenue from Michigan’s adult-use cannabis program will analyze the effects of medical marijuana in military veterans, state officials announced on Tuesday. The bulk of the money, nearly $13 million, will examine “the efficacy of marijuana in treating the medical conditions of United States armed service veterans and preventing veteran suicide,” according to recipients at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). The grant will fund the next step of a study researchers say is the first clinical trial of inhaled botanical marijuana for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and only…

Sep. 7—SOUTH WINDSOR — Town Council members will discuss the legalization of marijuana and its impact on the town tonight, continuing their discussion from the July 19 meeting. Mayor Andrew Paterna said council members will discuss the text of the proposal and recommendations they would make to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which is expected to take up the issue soon. “We want to review the legislation and take a look at some of the aspects of what the town would want to do,” Paterna said. Paterna said the town has had medical marijuana zoning regulations that council members may…

September 7, 2021 With town approval, Fine Fettle is now seeking approval from the state to sell recreational marijuana at its Thread City business. The business opened in 2019 at 1548 Main St. in Willimantic and it is currently licensed to sell medical marijuana, but Fine Fettle is seeking a hybrid retailer license. Under a new law that went into effect July 1, those ages 21 and older are legally allowed to buy, possess and consume recreational marijuana in the state of Connecticut. Windham Director of Development Matthew Vertefeuille said he approved the application to expand Fine Fettle’s current use…

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…

When state legislators next put a survey in their “constituent service” mailings, it should include the question: How many bears will you accept in your neighborhood before Connecticut authorizes bear hunting? Of course, most people don’t want any bears nearby. But then they don’t like the idea of shooting them either, even as bear sightings have increased sharply in the state in recent years, along with home break-ins by bears, bear damage to crops and livestock, and highway crashes caused by bears. The logic of Connecticut’s laissez-bear policy is that eventually every town in the state will have at least a few…