All posts in Connecticut News

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,…

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…