All posts in Connecticut News

For years, many Connecticut employers saw full cannabis legalization as an inevitability, but questions surrounding the issue and how it would affect workplace policies were still theoretical. On July 1, it became legal for adults in Connecticut to possess and use marijuana, but the nearly 300-page recreational cannabis law includes numerous restrictions on what actions employers can take against employees for using the drug at and/or outside of work. Legal experts say the new law provides significant safeguards for employers, especially those who want to limit the use of the drug among their staff even outside the workplace. Sarah Skubas…

July 12, 2021 The legalization of marijuana in Connecticut – which took effect last week – has some area police concerned it could lead to an uptick in DUI offenses. “Do we expect more people to be smoking and driving? Probably,” Bristol police Dep. Chief Richard Guerrera said. “How much (cannabis use) is considered under the influence?” We don’t know yet. I don’t know what the threshold is.” Currently, there is no unit of measurement easily available that police can use to determine how “high” a motorist is, according to police. An officer who suspects a driver is under the…

ENFIELD — The Town Council is taking steps to possibly prohibit cannabis establishments from opening in town in the wake of the state recently legalizing recreational marijuana. Possession and use of small amounts of marijuana for people age 21 and over became legal in the state on July 1, with Connecticut becoming the 19th state to legalize the drug. Retail sales of marijuana in the state are expected to happen sometime in 2022. The new legislation, however, includes an option for towns to prohibit cannabis establishments by ordinance, and the council is exploring that course of action. The first step…

On July 1, 2021 Connecticut became the nineteenth state to legalize the possession and use of cannabis for recreational purposes. Upon conversion of the existing licenses held by medical marijuana growers within the next few months, and conversion of medical marijuana dispensaries this fall, the manufacture, sale and distribution of cannabis for adult recreational purposes will also be legal. Leaders of the Connecticut Legislature and Governor Lamont have touted Connecticut’s new law as the most comprehensive and socially progressive law in the nation because of how it provides for the erasure of criminal convictions for past possession and use, the…

On 18 June, the Connecticut legislature legalized recreational cannabis use for residents twenty-one and older. The bill changes state law to allow the government to tax and regulate the commercialization of cannabis products. After the signing, Governor Ned Lamont said that the law is a first step at correcting the injustices and disparities of the War on Drugs. Gov. Lamont hopes that the new law will “eliminate the dangerous, unregulated market and support a new and equitable sector of our economy that will create jobs.” While opponents argue that this could make the public less safe, Gov. Lamont highlighted the…

GREENWICH, CT — On Wednesday night, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to amend zoning text to prohibit recreational marijuana sales in all zones throughout Greenwich. Recreational marijuana became legal in Connecticut on July 1 after Gov. Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill 1201 into law. The legislation allows municipalities to amend their zoning regulations or local ordinances to prohibit “cannabis establishments” from opening, restrict their hours and signage, or restrict their proximity to religious institutions, schools, charitable institutions, hospitals, veterans homes, or certain military establishments. Cannabis establishments are defined as a producer, dispensary facility, cultivator, micro-cultivator, retailer, hybrid retailer,…