{"id":954,"date":"2021-09-06T10:26:43","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T10:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vd2VzdGZhaXJvbmxpbmUuY29tLzEzOTkxMi9yaWRnZWZpZWxkLXdlaWdocy10aGUtcHJvcy1hbmQtY29ucy1vZi1jYW5uYWJpcy1yZXRhaWxpbmcv0gEA"},"modified":"2021-09-06T10:26:43","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T10:26:43","slug":"ridgefield-weighs-the-pros-and-cons-of-cannabis-retailing-westfair-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=954","title":{"rendered":"Ridgefield weighs the pros and cons of cannabis retailing – Westfair Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

R<\/span>idgefield\u2019s Economic & Community Development Commission invited established cannabis retailers and policy makers from Massachusetts and California to a special online meeting Aug. 30 to hear the benefits and challenges that could arise if the town gave its approval for the opening of marijuana retail stores.<\/p>\n

And what did they learn?<\/p>\n

Setting up cannabis retail comes with a lot of variables.<\/p>\n

\"marijuana
Sanders<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meg Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, a cannabis retailer in Massachusetts, cautioned the commission that making money in this sector of the retail industry was heavy with obstacles created by the regulatory oversight in place.<\/p>\n

She observed that while the legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts \u2014 which was approved by voters in 2016 \u2014 sparked a great deal of interest among potential retailers, \u201cvery few applicants have made it through the process,\u201d adding that many would-be entrepreneurs would face sticker shock for upfront costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that I think is critical to remember is this is a business where a lot of money\u2019s invested in order to open,\u201d she said, citing the costs of security systems to the staffing needed to ensure inventory is handled and consumers are not underage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with the heavy taxation burden that exists in this industry because it\u2019s not federally legal yet, we have a massive burden. We are not allowed to take any normal business deductions except for cost of goods \u2014 payroll, rent, insurance, all of these things normal businesses pay we cannot deduct from our taxes. So, you can imagine what our tax burden is \u2014 it\u2019s enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connecticut state Sen. Will Haskell, whose district includes Ridgefield, supported the cannabis legalization bill that Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in June but noted that it comes with some significant caveats, including an age restriction on sales to individuals 21 and older, restrictions on the use of mass media for advertising and limits on what constitutes legal possession for both the number of cannabis plants on residential property \u2014 three mature plants and three immature plants per person, with a maximum of 12 plants per household \u2014 and the possession levels of marijuana on a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in possession of more than one-and-a-half ounces, but less than five ounces, then you\u2019re subject to a first-offense fine of $100, a second-offense fine of $250 and so on,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re in possession of even greater amounts, well then there\u2019s greater fines. The first offense is $500, the second offense is a Class C misdemeanor. And then there are other crimes that remain in place like those who are growing illegally, manufacturing illegally and the intent to sell to somebody who\u2019s under 21 \u2014 those are all additionally considered a crime under our new statute.\u201d<\/p>\n

While predicting cannabis will be \u201cone of the most regulated industries in the country,\u201d Haskell noted that a disproportionate number of minorities went to prison for marijuana possession in the pre-legalization era and he warned that he did not want to see this sector controlled by \u201ca whole bunch of corporations predominantly owned by folks who are white who all of a sudden become millionaires on the backs of a failed war on drugs that negatively impacted so many communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arthur Wylene, general counsel of the Rural County Representatives of California, discussed his state\u2019s efforts to launch and maintain a cannabis retail sector and stressed that not every locality is right for such retailing, but those that succeeded understood the needs of this offering.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith great control comes great responsibility,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were quite successful in California getting a fairly high level of local control. But we found that certainly the choices we make collectively can have an effect on that statewide dynamic, both on the market and on the political repercussions in future legislative and regulatory activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf local jurisdictions have negative press articles about how they have not regulated, that rebound one way,\u201d he said. \u201cWhereas on the other hand, if jurisdictions sort of reflexively say \u2018No, we don\u2019t want commercial cannabis activities, we don\u2019t want retail, we don\u2019t want a cultivation,\u2019 that in turn generates pressure at the state level to override the local bans. And we see those bills probably once every couple of years in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wylene also advised his Ridgefield audience that his state\u2019s experience might not fit into their situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnecticut isn\u2019t California, and California isn\u2019t Massachusetts, and Massachusetts isn\u2019t Colorado,\u201d he said. \u201cEach of those states faces different conditions and decisions at the state level that, in turn, affect how local governments react.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn California, the level of local control that we have, particularly in the fiscal realm, is a lot higher than Connecticut municipalities have. We don\u2019t have limits on local taxation that requires a vote of the people to impose any tax but with a vote of the people \u2014 you can tax cannabis businesses almost without limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Dukett, legislative advocate for Rural County Representatives of California, echoed Wylene\u2019s comments but adding that creating a cannabis retail environment is an act of trial-and-error.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing just to keep in mind is you won\u2019t get it right the first time,\u201d she said. \u201cNo ordinance is going to be perfect, no state regulation is going to be perfect. It\u2019s going to be a learning process, and there\u2019s going to be a lot of changes especially early on (as) they start to develop their state regulatory system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dukett added that \u201cnot getting it right the first time is okay\u201d because the cannabis industry itself is a work in progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cA robust regulatory framework does not happen overnight,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take time to have that setup and to have a whole entire licensing process set up. And even if you decide to say yes, to get your own rules in order finding the right business for your community, it\u2019s going to take time and you need to be prepared to pivot and make changes and be flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as for those who think cannabis will bring quick revenue into the town, Dukett cautioned to \u201ckeep your expectations modest\u201d and to be patient when expecting positive results.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to see a public benefit payoff right away,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe take the time to do a little revenue projection \u2014 that\u2019s a little bit more realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ridgefield\u2019s Economic & Community Development Commission invited established cannabis retailers and policy makers from Massachusetts and California to a special online meeting Aug. 30 to hear the benefits and challenges that could arise if the town gave its approval for the opening of marijuana retail stores. And what did they learn? Setting up cannabis retail comes with a lot of variables. Sanders Meg Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, a cannabis retailer in Massachusetts, cautioned the commission that making money in this sector of the retail industry was heavy with obstacles created by the regulatory oversight in place. She observed that… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ridgefield-weighs-the-pros-and-cons-of-cannabis-retailing-westfair-online.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}