New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Conn. tells medical cannabis patients to stock up before 4/20
April 20 (or 4/20) has become an unofficial “holiday” for cannabis, and the state is telling medical cannabis users to get their medicine before recreational users buy it all up.
“The department is aware that April 20 is a day on which cannabis demand is expected to increase significantly,” the state Department of Consumer Protection said in a Tuesday note to registered medical cannabis patients. “We encourage medical patients and caregivers to obtain their medicine prior to April 20 in anticipation of these increased sales to ensure that they have access to medicine.”
The “holiday” is a reference to the slang term “420,” the origins of which date back to 1971, according to history.com, when a group of high school students would meet up after school to smoke pot at precisely 4:20 p.m. Over time, April 20 became a widely recognized day to celebrate cannabis.
There are nearly 41,000 registered medical cannabis users in Connecticut as of Feb. 29, according to state data — about 8,000 lower than there were on Jan. 31, 2023.
There are 21 hybrid medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries in the state, and only two medical-only dispensaries, Zen Leaf in Waterbury and Bluepoint Wellness in Westport.
Sales of medical cannabis in Connecticut were higher than recreational cannabis until May. Since then, sales of recreational cannabis have been increasing — with the exception of the January and February which saw a decline — while medical cannabis sales have decreased from a high of $12.6 million in March 2023 to $8.6 million this February.
Laws governing cannabis in Connecticut happen to fall under the chapter heading 420, though state officials are unable to say whether or not that placement was on purpose.
“My official statement is, ‘I can neither confirm nor deny that it was an intentional act,” State Rep. Mike D’Agostino, D-Hamden, chair of the legislature’s general law committee, said last year.