The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cannabis gifting party threatened with legal action
A group running a cannabis “gifting party” has been issued a cease-anddesist order by the state attorney general, alleging the “unlicensed cannabis market appears to violate multiple state statutes.”
The so-called HighBazaar hosts weekly cannabis-related gatherings at the Masonic Temple Day Spring Lodge in Hamden. The events have reportedly attracted as many as 1,200 people.
The letter addressed to organizers Joseph Accetulo and Cody Roberts and signed by state Attorney General William Tong, states that if the group does not “cease holding these events immediately,” the office “will explore all legal options.”
“Our office has become aware that you are involved in organizing recurring, unlicensed cannabis markets under the name HighBazaar,” in Hamden, Tong’s letter states. “It appears that these events involve the illegal marketing and sale of cannabis outside of the regulated market and that the events are accessible to individuals under the age of 21.”
State law places limits on the amount of cannabis an individual can possess, and only permits licensed dispensaries to sell cannabis products. Tong said the HighBazaar “appears” to violate the state’s Responsible and Equitable Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis Act, the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act “and/or other applicable laws and regulations.”
The events had operated as “gifting parties,” in which for a $20 admission fee, attendants could listen to music, purchase cannabis-related accoutrements and receive “gifts” containing cannabis. Legislation was passed in 2022 that prohibited such events.
Accetulo did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but Christina Capitan, founder of an advocacy group called CT CannaWarriors, which has advocated for cannabis decriminalization and worked with the HighBazaar, said that using the attorney general’s office “against us in service of a corporate monopoly puts Ned Lamont as the Face of the Drug War 2.0.”
“While we are disappointed, we are not surprised, as this is simply a continuation of Gov. Lamont’s efforts to criminalize cannabis home growers while simultaneously denying anyone without millions the ability to get a legal license in Connecticut,” Capitan said.
“It’s just a flower. We’re not selling crack,” said Ivellise Correa, a CannaWarriors member. “This is a craft cannabis community.”
Louis Rinaldi, a vocal critic of the state’s licensed
retail cannabis market and medical cannabis program said, “It’s time for us to collectively pivot to a more populist solution, one that opens up the market to local small craft producers and caregivers.”
“On one side we have a group of advocates whose
net impact on cannabis policy has been regressive, after flaunting their exploitation of the gifting loophole and forcing state legislators to close it,” he said. “On the other side, we have elected officials who instead of serving the people, serve as enforcers
of market share protectionism for the state’s four incumbent licensed producers. All while frustrated patients and consumers continue to source from outside Connecticut’s regulated market due to ongoing quality, pricing and trust concerns.”