With marijuana legalization on the table, many CT lenders may sit on the sidelines – Hartford Business
An emerging industry with 50,000 customers and tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue would be attractive for most banks and credit unions. Except if it’s the state’s medical marijuana industry. Of the 146 banks and credit unions operating in the state, a mere five — three banks and two credit unions — are banking licensed marijuana operators, and to a limited extent, mainly focused on deposit services and cash management rather than loans, according to an industry expert. Strict and costly compliance measures to ensure institutions don’t run afoul of federal law, which still deems marijuana to be…
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Connecticut Poll Shows Majority Support For Marijuana Legalization And Expungements As Lawmakers Consider Reform – Marijuana Moment
Ohio activists have collected enough signatures to force the legislature to take up the issue of marijuana legalization, the secretary of state’s office confirmed on Friday. This comes about two weeks after the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) submitted a final round of signatures for the measure. The petitions’ formal validation triggers the legislative review of legalization, but it does not require lawmakers to enact the reform. The legislature now has four months to consider the campaign’s cannabis reform proposal. Lawmakers can adopt the measure, reject it or pass an amended version. If they do not pass the…
Read More »New Meriden wellness center will feature hemp and CBD products – Meriden Record-Journal
MERIDEN — Instead of rakes and lawn mower parts, the former Civali’s Hardware store at 1387 E. Main St. will become a health and wellness center with a doctor’s office, a hemp and CBD product shop, and a glass accessory shop. The new plaza, which has yet to be named, is Tomarin Holdings LLC’s latest venture in the city. It is expected to open in several weeks. “It’s really beautiful,” said Tomarin partner Rino Ferrarese. “It’s really exciting, new businesses, jobs. There is a body of water behind the property. We’re cleaning it up and putting in benches. We’re going to try to make it as nice as…
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Connecticut Marijuana Hearing Shows Governor’s Legalization Bill Likely To Be Amended After Equity Pushback – Marijuana Moment
Caregivers say the lobbying efforts come down to a lack of understanding and greed. By Marla R. Miller, Michigan Advance Medical marijuana caregiver Ryan Bringold has been involved in Michigan’s grassroots efforts to legalize cannabis for years. But as larger licensed recreational and medical cannabis grow facilities and provisioning centers crop up across Michigan, caregivers like Bringold who helped legalize marijuana feel they are being pushed out. A small group of corporate activists want to tighten state restrictions for medical caregivers and patients. The goal: Cut plant counts, require product testing and reduce homegrown cultivation. Bringold, 49, who lives in…
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Connecticut Governor Touts Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead Of First Hearing – Marijuana Moment
At a press conference on Wednesday to build support for his plan to legalize marijuana in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) and other backers described the proposal as a thoughtful, data-driven measure designed to address decades of disproportionate harm to the state’s Black and brown residents. While the bill is set for its first committee hearing on Friday, some social justice advocates have deep concerns about how the legal market would be structured. “This has been a long time coming,” the governor said of his proposal. “We’ve been talking about this for ages, and I think now is the time…
Read More »Medical marijuana in Connecticut has problems. Legalizing adult recreational use can fix them – The CT Mirror
Connecticut has gotten right most aspects of its medical marijuana program, but some parts are broken. Legalizing adult recreational use of cannabis can fix what’s broken and can prevent from breaking what’s fixed. Mark Mathew Braunstein What’s working? Its ballooning rosters of patients, physicians, and dispensaries are hallmarks of a successful program. So let’s look at those numbers. Medical marijuana (MMJ) was legalized here in 2012. By 2015, 4,914 patients had registered. In 2017, that mushroomed fourfold to 22,279. Last June, that nearly doubled to 41,292. As of January, 49,721 total. That means one of every 75 Connecticut residents is…
Read More »As Connecticut edges closer to legalizing recreational marijuana, pot growers are ready to do business – Hartford Courant
Marijuana buds are shown at Huron View Provisioning in Ann Arbor, Mich., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. The first year of state-licensed recreational marijuana sales in Michigan saw $511 million of sales in recreational and $474 million in medical sales, generating over $100 million in tax revenue, but the state also found that the industry drastically failed to attract minority business owners. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya/AP)
Read More »CT’s legal marijuana trade is ready to bloom – The CT Mirror
Rocky Hill — On the coldest and grayest days of winter, a warm and improbably bright yellow light reliably shines on a dense thicket of plantings deep inside a repurposed warehouse. They are marijuana plants, some as tall as Christmas trees, thick with flowers. “For these plants, it’s like July 15 every day,” said Rino Ferrarese, the president and co-founder of CTPharma, one of the four licensed producers of medical cannabis in Connecticut, a state weighing a jump into the much bigger recreational market. Serrated leaves and flowers glisten with what appears to be a light frost, a promising sign…
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