Rojas said he \u201cwouldn\u2019t say we\u2019re close, but we\u2019re not far off either,\u201d adding that \u201cin principle, equity is important to both the administration and the legislature, and we\u2019re going to work through those details.\u201d<\/p>\n
To that end, the majority leader said that working groups have been formed in the Democratic caucuses of the House and Senate to go through the governor\u2019s proposal and a separate legalization bill introduced in the House Labor and Public Employees Committee last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen just a lot of alignment with both. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re far off,\u201d Rojas said. He added that he\u2019s pleased these conversations are taking place in March\u2014rather than later this spring toward the end of the session\u2014so that lawmakers can \u201cget to a place where we can get something that\u2019s acceptable to a majority of the legislature for passage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch the lawmakers discuss plans to pass a marijuana legalization bill, starting around 20:46 into the video below: <\/strong><\/p>\n Stafstrom, meanwhile, said Lamont\u2019s proposal remains in his panel\u2019s jurisdiction and it\u2019s \u201ca lot further long drafted and a lot more comprehensive than any proposal that\u2019s been before the Judiciary Committee before when it comes to the issues of criminal justice and comes to issues of legalization and driving protections, workplace protections\u2014those types of matters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been a steady progression over several years, and the bill is a more complete product in its current form than what has been voted out of the Judiciary Committee in years past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when Ritter jumped in to note the overall optimism about enacting the policy change.<\/p>\n But Jason Ortiz, president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association who served as chair of the governor\u2019s cannabis licensing working group last year<\/a>, told Marijuana Moment that optimism itself \u201cisn\u2019t a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m encouraged that leadership is taking the issue seriously and making it a priority,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re in the endgame now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Last month, an administration official stressed during a hearing in Stafstrom\u2019s committee that Lamont\u2019s proposal it is \u201cnot a final bill,\u201d and they want activists \u201cat the table\u201d<\/a> to further inform the legislation.<\/p>\n The legislature has considered legalization proposals on several occasions in recent years, including a bill that Democrats introduced last year on the governor\u2019s behalf<\/a>. Those bills stalled, however.<\/p>\n Lamont reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana<\/a> during his annual State of the State address in January, stating that he would be working with the legislature to advance the reform this session.<\/p>\n Ritter said in November that legalization in the state is \u201cinevitable.\u201d<\/a> He added later that month that \u201cI think it\u2019s got a 50\u201350 chance of passing<\/a> [in 2021], and I think you should have a vote regardless.\u201d The governor said in an interview earlier this month that he puts the odds of his legislation passing at \u201c60-40 percent chance.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Should that effort fail, the speaker said he will move to put a constitutional question on the state\u2019s 2022 ballot that would leave the matter to voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n That would likely prove popular, as a survey released this month found that 66 percent of Connecticut adults favor legalization<\/a>, and the same percentage of respondents back expunging prior cannabis records.<\/p>\n The governor has compared the need for regional coordination on marijuana policy<\/a> to the coronavirus response, stating that officials have \u201cgot to think regionally when it comes to how we deal with the pandemic\u2014and I think we have to think regionally when it comes to marijuana, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said that legalization in Connecticut could potentially reduce the spread of COVID-19<\/a> by limiting out-of-state trips to purchase legal cannabis in neighboring states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 800 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/connecticut-house-speaker-says-optimism-abounds-as-marijuana-legalization-negotiations-proceed-marijuanamoment-net.jpg\")
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