July 19, 2022 Updated: July 19, 2022 at 10:00 p.m.
The state’s Social Equity Council gave initial approval to the 16 applicants last week.
Jordan Fenster / Hearst Connecticut Media Group
The state has released the business names of the 16 applicants and their financial backers who were selected to be among the first to grow cannabis in Connecticut.
Applicants come from Bridgeport, Hartford, New Britain, Manchester, Middletown, Southington, Stamford and Waterbury, but can choose to operate their grow facilities in any disproportionately affected area of the state, which tends to being urban and low-income, and which are identified from previous cannabis convictions and unemployment rates.
The State Council of Social Equity gave initial approval to the 16 applicants last week. Applicants had to meet income, residence and property requirements set by the council to be eligible for social equity farming licences. They must now undergo a background check and review by the state Department of Consumer Protection, which is expected to take several weeks.
“Provisional licenses will be issued once background checks have been completed and successful applicants have submitted the required information and related fees,” DCP Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull said Tuesday in a press release “Licensees will be able to move forward with setting up their business and applying for a final license.”
The names of the companies are:
Julia covers Connecticut politics for Hearst, including how public policy decisions affect the lives of residents here. He previously reported on the military for The Day newspaper in New London. A Philadelphia native, Julia now calls Connecticut home, but she won’t give up her 215 area code.