The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Advocates push for pot as General Assembly convenes
HARTFORD — It didn’t take long Wednesday for proponents of legalizing recreational use of marijuana to start making their case to the newly convened General Assembly.
The pro-pot faction held a rally outside the state Capitol in support of legalization at the very same time the new House of Representatives and Senate were being sworn in.
Efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use have stalled in the General Assembly in the past few sessions, but proponents are hoping the fact that both the House and Senate are overwhelmingly Democrat after the last election — as well as newly installed Gov. Ned Lamont’s support for legalization — will mean this finally is their year.
Several legalization bills are expected to be raised in the House and Senate.
Wednesday’s small rally was held by Connecticut NORML, a state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
The group supports repeal of the prohibition of marijuana at the local, state and federal levels by educating those in the community about marijuana and hemp and their potential medical and industrial use, while promoting responsible use of marijuana by adults.
“Everyone is feeling like this is going to be the year,” said Joe Toth of Seymour. “We’re feeling confident.”
Kebra Smith-Bolden of New Haven said her interest in legalization is personal. She held a sign saying marijuana arrests are racist.
“As a person of color, I see my community devastated by the the number of black and brown people being put in jail over this harmless drug,” she said. “We need to stop the mass incarceration.”
In 2018, six bills related to legalizing and regulating cannabis in Connecticut were introduced and four hearings were held on the issue. A bill that would begin planning for the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Connecticut was sent to the House after narrowly passing the Appropriations Committee by a 2724 vote.
Those opposed to legalization know this may be the toughest battle yet to beat back efforts to legalize pot. But they are determined to fight on.
“There are a number of controversial issues related to the legalization of marijuana that the proponents, particularly the corporate interests hiding in the weeds, do not wish to talk about,” William Huhn, spokesman for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in a statement. “The governor and legislative leaders pushing for legalization are more than willing to close their eyes to the problems and to deny the existence of obvious risks,” Huhn said. “They’re willing to ignore the widespread devastation caused by drug abuse in our society.”
Huhn said one of the key arguments that will be forwarded during debate on marijuana legalization is the lack of field tests that would keep impaired drivers off the road.
“Do members of the public want in creased DUI while they are driving with their families, while their kids are riding bikes, while they are jogging?,” Huhn asked. “Do the public surveys ask about that?”
“Legalization of retail marijuana will increase use in Connecticut, both by existing users and new users,” Huhn continued. “Many will be able to use and suffer no consequence, but others will not. A solid percentage will become addicted. And a solid percentage will move on to other drugs that provide more powerful highs.”
Connecticut voters have supported legalization in several polls. The state It also has a flourishing medical marijuana program. State officials in December announced that there will be nine new dispensaries in New Haven, Westport, Stamford, Torrington, Meriden, Groton, Newington, Mansfield and Windham to serve the more than 30,000 patients.
The new facilities will join the nine others already in operation, according to the Department of Consumer Protection .
The most recent, an October 2017 Sacred Heart University poll, that found that 71 percent of Connecticut residents “strongly support” or “somewhat support” legalizing and taxing marijuana, in the context of the state’s budget crisis.
The Office of Fiscal Analysis last year estimated Connecticut could bring in $45.4 million to $104.6 million annually if it were to legalize marijuana in the same way it’s been done in Massachusetts or Colorado.
Connecticut still is facing a substantial two-year, multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
Massachusetts recently became the seventh state in the nation to establish a regulated cannabis market for adults. A total of nine states have enacted laws to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana for adult use. Lawmakers in Vermont and voters in Washington, D.C., adopted laws making marijuana possession and cultivation legal for adults, but not commercial production or sales. In Maine, they are expected to begin in fall of this year.
In Massachusetts, adults 21 and older can purchase up to one ounce of marijuana from licensed marijuana retail stores, of which no more than 5 grams can be in concentrate form. It will remain illegal to consume marijuana in public.
Marijuana products sold for adult use are subject to a 6.25 percent state sales tax and a 10.75 percent state excise tax, and municipal officials have the option of levying additional local taxes of up to 3 percent. A study released in June 2018 by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health estimated adult marijuana sales would generate more than $200 million for the state and up to $3 million for local governments in the first two years alone.