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Although recreational marijuana retail stores are unlikely to open in Connecticut or New York until next year, the nation’s largest cannabis operator, Curaleaf,  is encouraging interested adults to beat the presumed rush by getting their medical marijuana cards now. That way, Curaleaf says, such customers will have a leg up on those choosing to wait until retail stores open, having already secured a card that can be used for both medical and recreational cannabis. “A lot of people in both states are definitely interested in (recreational) cannabis,” Curaleaf Dispensary Manager Stacia Woodcock told the Business Journal. “But they haven’t gotten…

As Connecticut gears up to establish a legal recreational cannabis market, state officials are looking at the industry as an opportunity to boost workforce development efforts. Workforce development is baked into the recreational marijuana law, including a requirement that licensed cannabis businesses enact plans to train people for industry jobs. The law also authorizes up to $50 million in general obligation bonds for the state Department of Economic and Community Development and Social Equity Council to use for various purposes, including workforce development programs that could include an accelerator program. But beyond that, workforce development officials are meeting with professionals…

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…

Legal recreational cannabis sales are still likely more than a year away and state regulators must adopt a host of rules before the first adult-use pot shop can open its doors to the public. But one area where plenty of restrictions already exist is in how cannabis businesses will be able to advertise their products. Unsurprisingly, the rules are stringent, which will pose challenges to both cannabis businesses and the marketing firms they hire to craft and sell their brands. The regulations, which will be monitored and enforced by the state Department of Consumer Protection, carry a strong focus on…

Legal recreational cannabis sales are still likely more than a year away and state regulators must adopt a host of rules before the first adult-use pot shop can open its doors to the public. But one area where plenty of restrictions already exist is in how cannabis businesses will be able to advertise their products. Unsurprisingly, the rules are stringent, which will pose challenges to both cannabis businesses and the marketing firms they hire to craft and sell their brands. The regulations, which will be monitored and enforced by the state Department of Consumer Protection, carry a strong focus on…

Andrea Comer has a lot of work ahead of her. Comer chairs the 15-member Social Equity Council (SEC), a key regulator of Connecticut’s forthcoming recreational cannabis industry. When state legislators were debating the cannabis legalization bill that Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in June, a primary concern among some was social equity. Pro-legalization advocates and some lawmakers highlighted the moral imperative of ensuring the pot industry would benefit marginalized communities that disproportionately bore the brunt of the nation’s half-century “war on drugs.” That’s why the law that went into effect July 1, puts the SEC front and center in…

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…