Marijuana bill in negotiations
HARTFORD — With seven weeks left in the legislative session, the campaign to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use and retail sales is in a new, urgent phase, as the potential final details are negotiated among Democratic leaders and the governor’s office, behind closed doors.
While Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal was recently approved - with some opposition from fellow Democrats in the law-writing Judiciary Committee, some urban lawmakers and advocates say there are major shortcomings in assuring financial equity for neighborhoods that were historic targets of the failed national war on drugs.
They say that the proposed 55-percent of revenues returning to underserved communities that were the focus of police operations, isn’t enough money to make up for decades of arrests and incarceration. In New Jersey’s recent legalization effort, urban areas were given about 70 percent of revenues.
But Lamont on Tuesday said he was “confident” that retail-cannabis legislation, one of the planks of his 2018 election platform, will finally win approval this year.
“I think we have broad agreement, don’t we, that we want this to be legal, we want this to be regulated, to lead with public health,” Lamont said after a morning news conference outside the State Office Building. “Now there’s always a scramble about who gets the money and how much for this group versus that group, so I’ll watch that and make sure it stays within the bounds. I think we all agree that we want resources to go to the most-distressed communities. I want it to go to economic development. I want it to go to mental health and addiction services. So as long as we’re broadly within those parameters I think we’ve got a deal.”
During the annual marijuana holiday of 420, 100 cannabis activists gathered outside the Legislative Office Building on Tuesday to push for another bill that would include homegrown plants.
While a home-grow section is unlikely to appear in a final legalization bill, other sections that emerged from the legislative Labor Committee, supported by Rep. Robyn Porter and Sen. Julie Kushner, the co-chairwomen, seem to have become part of the final negotiations on Lamont’s proposal, as lawmakers work to approve something by the June 9 adjournment date. In particular, assurances that workers’ rights are recognized and that criminal possession records are erased, in Porter and Kushner’s bill, are still part of the talks.
“Cannabis will not be legalized for adult use in the state of Connecticut without equity,” Porter, D-New Haven, said to the 420 crowd. “In a nutshell it is economic justice. It is economic empowerment to the communities, to the people, to the families that have been harmed the most. The detrimental damage, that’s where these revenues need to go. This is not about filling the budget gap. This is not about putting money in the General Fund. These communities were targeted and criminalized behind cannabis, because it wasn’t always illegal.”
Initial tax revenue estimates are at about $40 million in the first year of a retail-cannabis program, and $100 million by the 2025-26 fiscal year. Communities would be able to make more revenue by hosting dispensaries or grow facilities.
“Equity means equity for all,” Kushner told to the activists gathered with signs of support for the bill and marijuana-themed flags. “We’re creating a brand new industry in the state of Connecticut that industry comes with strings. You don’t get to come here and not create good jobs with good benefits. Without it, we say this bill goes nowhere.”
“There is a lot of conversation about equity and restorative justice,” said DeVaughn Ward, senior legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project, who is focusing on the General Assembly and Lamont.
During an interview among the colorful crowd observing 420, Ward said he thinks the bill can pass this year, and if not, Rhode Island and New York State seem ready to take even more Connecticut consumer cash than the adult-use cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts are currently enjoying.
Legislative proponents of the bill are cautious, and have seen the bill fail before.
“The big perspective would be that coming from a place of privilege that has not been impacted in the war on drugs, it is easy to say get it on the tote board in the House of Representatives and fix the bill later,” said Rep. Josh Elliott, DHamden. “But it is also important to listen to the people whose neighborhoods have been impacted. Ultimately, I will be behind my allies and people historically on the fence.”
House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, a proponent of the legislation who is closely involved in the negotiations with Lamont’s staff, said in a Tuesday afternoon interview that now that the committee process is complete, a final form of the bill will get more attention.
“There is a lot of agreement on this and I think there is a general consensus,” Rojas said over the phone. “We need to figure out the goal, assure equity and make sure the governor is comfortable.” Rojas noted that a significant amount of money would have to be invested early in the regulatory system, as well as counseling and drug-rehabilitation programs.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” Rojas said. “I think we can get there. I think everyone is committed to the right end point.”