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SOUTHBURY — Like other local towns, Southbury is considering a temporary pause on cannabis establishments as officials make sense of the new state law legalizing marijuana. Southbury’s Land Use Department, led by Land Use Administrator Jessica Townsend, has produced a detailed Southbury cannabis guideline package that explains what the law is about, its effect on the town, and the local government process needed to produce precise and effective regulations. “Southbury, like most communities in the state, are looking carefully at the new cannabis laws going forward,” Southbury First Selectman Jeffrey Manville said. “The guidelines were a collaborative effort of everyone…

Wednesday is the deadline to submit comments on a draft Senate bill to federally legalize marijuana, and feedback has flooded in from a broad array of advocates and industry stakeholders. While legalization proponents have widely celebrated the introduction of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), they have some suggestions for improvement—principally as it concerns issues of social equity, licensing, tax policy and interstate commerce. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) are the lead sponsors of the legislation, and after releasing a draft version of the measure in…

A coalition of 10 civil rights and drug policy reform advocacy groups—including the Rhode Island chapters of the ACLU and NAACP—are demanding that lawmakers move ahead with enacting marijuana legalization in the state before the end of 2021. Meanwhile, the lead sponsors of competing House and Senate legalization bills told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that conversations about working out the differences between their proposals and a separate one proposed by the governor are going well. In a statement released by the coalition Yes We Cannabis RI on Tuesday, activists said they are “urging lawmakers to reach a deal to equitably…

Bethel’s medical marijuana dispensary, ‘Compassionate Care Center of Connecticut‘ will soon morph into Danbury’s first medical cannabis dispensary when ‘The Botanist’ opens in late September at 105 Mill Plain Road. To be clear, this facility will not be a recreational marijuana dispensary. Compassionate Care was purchased by Acreage Holdings, Inc in 2018 and decided to rebrand the dispensary according to the website cannabisdispensarymag.com. Location of ‘The Botanist’ on Mill Plain Rd. – Google Instant This is great news for ‘Compassionate Care’ customers because The Botanist dispensaries will offer a wide variety of cannabis-based products, including flower, vapes, concentrates, tablets, edibles, and tinctures….

Some people might be tempted to try marijuana now that it is legal. It is important to have the facts regarding this addictive drug (third after tobacco and alcohol) before doing so. Marijuana contains more than 100 chemicals referred to as cannabinoids. The National Institute of Drug Abuse states that the main cannabinoids are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). THC causes a “high” when people smoke or eat foods with marijuana. Marijuana smoke includes ammonia and hydrogen cyanide. Breathing in this smoke can aggravate the bronchial passages and lungs. This can cause coughing and wheezing. It is important to keep in…

When Connecticut legislators agreed this spring to legalize recreational marijuana, a number of lawmakers did so with the proviso that the change would also foster an equitable, diverse market, with meaningful benefits for people from communities disproportionately harmed by the criminalization of marijuana.  “There won’t be a cannabis bill in this state until we get equity right,” said State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, at a press conference before the passage of the law.   Translating those goals into policy is the work of a 15-member social equity council appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont and state lawmakers to iron out the…

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has appointed a new member to the state’s Social Equity Council (SEC). On Wednesday, August 25, the Governor’s Office announced the appointment of Latinas & Power Symposium founder Marilyn Alverio to the SEC. Last month, Governor Lamont announced Joseph Williams’ and Dr. Kelli Vallieres’ appointments to the SEC. In July, Governor Lamont also announced officials from his administration who will serve as ex-officio members on the SEC. The members include Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw, and Department of Consumer Protection Deputy Commissioner Andréa Comer….

Mexican lawmakers will again take up the issue of establishing rules for a regulated marijuana market in the new legislative session that begins on Wednesday, a top senator says. The country’s Supreme Court first deemed the prohibition on personal consumption and cultivation of cannabis for adults unconstitutional in 2018. Since then, there’s been an ongoing effort in the Congress to legislate on the issue—but lawmakers have repeatedly failed to meet court deadlines to end marijuana criminalization. The court took matters into its own hands in June and invalidated prohibition, without a regulatory scheme in place. Also that month, President Andrés…