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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…

NEW FAIRFIELD — With the recent legalization of recreational adult-use of marijuana in Connecticut, local zoning officials are trying to figure out what to do about retail cannabis in town. “We could put a moratorium on it and not deal with it for a period of time, we could do nothing … or we could say in our zoning regulations that we allow (or don’t allow) dispensaries in our town,” said John Moran, chairman of the Zoning Commission, which opened a public hearing on the issue Wednesday. Municipalities across the state are deciding whether to allow retail cannabis businesses within…

Sep. 4—WILLIMANTIC — With town approval, Fine Fettle is now seeking approval from the state to sell recreational marijuana at its Thread City business. The business opened in 2019 at 1548 Main St. in Willimantic and it is currently licensed to sell medical marijuana, but Fine Fettle is seeking a hybrid retailer license. Under a new law that went into effect July 1, those ages 21 and older are legally allowed to buy, possess and consume recreational marijuana in the state of Connecticut. Windham Director of Development Matthew Vertefeuille said he approved the application to expand Fine Fettle’s current use…