Efforts to legalize adult-use cannabis through Connecticut\u2019s legislature over the past five years have repeatedly failed. During that time, however, a number of nearby states\u2014including Maine, Vermont, New Jersey and neighboring Massachusetts\u2014have passed legalization measures of their own. Other neighbors, including New York<\/a> and Rhode Island<\/a>, are currently weighing the issue. The state\u2019s only other border is coastline.<\/p>\n At Tuesday\u2019s press conference, lawmakers argued that the fact that Connecticut residents can now legally buy marijuana next door in Massachusetts\u2014and soon elsewhere\u2014has changed the political equation.<\/p>\n \u201cFolks literally take something called a car,\u201d Ritter quipped, \u201cand they drive in their car and they buy it.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, Connecticut in 2011 decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis, Ritter noted. \u201cSo not only are they going across the border, but they\u2019re coming back to their homes and using it safely.\u201d (However common, it remains illegal to transport marijuana across state lines.)<\/p>\n Also at Tuesday\u2019s press conference<\/a>, held outside state-licensed medical marijuana producer CT Pharma, was Rep. Michael D\u2019Agostino (D), co-chair of the House General Law Committee.<\/p>\n \u201cThe foundation exists for adult-use cannabis in Connecticut,\u201d D\u2019Agostino said, alluding to the facility behind him. \u201cThe production facilities exist. The distribution facilities exist. The regulatory structure exists. A bill is drafted from last session. We are ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Passage through the state legislature would be the speedier of the two options. \u201cIf the legislature shows the will to pass this this year,\u201d D\u2019Agostino said, \u201cwe can be up and running by the end of next year. And from there, it will be easy to bolt onto that opportunities for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n A legislative panel in March heard a legalization proposal<\/a> but declined to vote on the bill. That measure would likely serve as the model for next session\u2019s legislation.<\/p>\n Legalization through a voter-approved referendum, the lawmakers noted, would follow a considerably longer path. Qualifying a proposed amendment for the following election requires passing a joint resolution with a three-quarters majority vote in both the Senate and the House. Otherwise, a simple majority of lawmakers put an amendment on the ballot if they approve it in two separate legislative sessions.<\/p>\n That would likely mean the question wouldn\u2019t appear before voters until \u201c2022 or, worst-case, 2024,\u201d Ritter said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we had only done this two years ago,\u201d he added, \u201cwe\u2019d only be two years away.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, putting the issue on the ballot if there aren\u2019t enough votes to pass a legalization bill itself would require some lawmakers who are opposed to or skeptical about the issue to at least feel comfortable letting voters decide on it. That\u2019s what happened in New Jersey, where the legislature couldn\u2019t find enough support for legalizing cannabis on its own but was able to pass a resolution placing a cannabis referendum<\/a> on the ballot.<\/p>\n Amid what\u2019s expected to be a busy legislative session in Connecticut, incoming House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D) said marijuana deserves to be on the calendar even though \u201cthis is not the most pressing issue we\u2019re facing as a state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps it\u2019s the most nagging one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n November\u2019s election could help seal the deal. Democrats will have bigger majorities than in past years when the 2021 legislative session kicks off, as the Hartford Courant noted<\/a>, and leaders said Tuesday they\u2019re already reaching out to new members.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we need to have a bill that\u2019s ready from day one so that we can go to our members who are a bit skeptical about this policy,\u201d Rojas said, \u201cso we can arm them with the best information possible, and a vision for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about opposition to the bill, Rojas was frank. \u201cIt\u2019s a diverse body of legislators, and there\u2019s a lot of differences of opinion,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s concerns about the impact on youth and the kind of message that it sends to youth. There are some who believe the impact on brain development should be taken into consideration and therefore the age should be 25 for adult use. It\u2019s a complicated issue, like many of the issues that we face in the Capitol.\u201d<\/p>\n Ritter urged Republican lawmakers to see the issue as one of personal liberty. \u201cWhere are my libertarian Republican friends? Where are they?\u201d he asked. \u201cIf they\u2019re not willing to vote for legalization, are they at least willing to put it to the voters?\u201d<\/p>\n If put on the state ballot, Ritter predicted marijuana legalization would pass overwhelmingly. Nearly two-thirds (63.4 percent) of residents<\/a> said they \u201cstrongly support\u201d or \u201csomewhat support\u201d legalizing adult-use cannabis, according to a poll in March, while 29.5 percent said they \u201cstrongly oppose\u201d or \u201csomewhat oppose\u201d it.<\/p>\n Ritter on Tuesday also downplayed the role of state tax revenue in his support for legalization, saying it alone wouldn\u2019t balance the budget. Instead, he said, he\u2019s motivated by having a coherent policy with neighboring states, ensuring products are safe and addressing racial disparities in cannabis policing.<\/p>\n Gov. Ned Lamont (D), who supports legalization, also said this month that the policy change could potentially reduce the spread of COVID-19<\/a> by limiting out-of-state trips to buy marijuana.<\/p>\n Revenue from legalization in Connecticut would go toward education as well as an equity fund that would invest in communities disproportionately impacted by the drug war under the draft bill, the lawmakers said Tuesday. Municipalities could tack on additional taxes or fees, or they could vote to keep legal marijuana businesses out of their jurisdictions completely.<\/p>\n Voters across the country on Election Day approved every major drug-reform measure on state ballots<\/a>, a sweep that\u2019s since spurred action in neighboring states<\/a>.<\/p>\n In many states where cannabis was on the ballot, legalization got more votes than either Donald Trump\u2019s or Joe Biden\u2019s presidential bids<\/a>.<\/p>\n Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told Marijuana Moment after Election Day that the overwhelming results are also likely to encourage reform at the federal level<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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