Lamont Vows To Sign Approved Recreational Marijuana Bill

CONNECTICUT — The state Senate voted Thursday to approve a bill that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana among adults by a vote of 16-11. The measure now moves to the Office of Gov. Ned Lamont, who has said he will sign it into law.

"It's fitting that the bill legalizing the adult use of cannabis and addressing the injustices caused by the war of drugs received final passage today, on the 50-year anniversary of President Nixon declaring the war," Lamont said. "The war on cannabis, which was at its core a war on people in Black and Brown communities, not only caused injustices and increased disparities in our state, it did little to protect public health and safety."

Once signed, the law would go into effect July 1. Retail sales would begin May 2022, and residents could grow their own plants the following year.

The law would decriminalize possession of up to 5 ounces on your person and 8 ounces in a locked container, imposing a civil fine in lieu of possible jail time. It would do away with using the odor of cannabis as justification for law enforcement to stop or search motorists in the state.

Residents with convictions for possession, drug paraphernalia, or sale and manufacture of 4 or fewer ounces or six or fewer plants, could petition to have them expunged. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, all convictions from Jan. 1, 2000, through Sept. 15, 2015, for possession of fewer than 4 ounces will be purged automatically.

Lamont said marijuana sales will bring in around $33.6 million in revenue for the state in fiscal year 2023 and $97 million by fiscal year 2026. Fifteen states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana, including neighboring New York and Massachusetts. Rhode Island is on the cusp of doing so.

“The states surrounding us already, or soon will, have legal adult-use markets. By allowing adults to possess cannabis, regulating its sale and content, training police officers in the latest techniques of detecting and preventing impaired driving, and expunging the criminal records of people with certain cannabis crimes, we’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities, we’re keeping Connecticut economically competitive with our neighboring states," Lamont said.

Sen. John Kissel, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, disagreed with the governor's view and cited public health crises in Colorado and other states that legalized recreational cannabis among reasons he voted against the bill.

"I don't think that because surrounding states are going down this path we should,"Kissel said during the brief debate that preceded Tuesday's vote. "Why can't Connecticut be that shining city on the hill? The oasis?"

It was the third time the Senate voted on a cannabis bill this year. The original bill was first debated and approved in the Senate on June 7. When House leaders delayed their vote to a special session, the procedure triggered a second Senate vote, held on Tuesday. The bill which came out of the second Senate vote differed from the first, broadening the definition of who could apply for cannabis licenses as social equity applicants. Lamont vowed to veto that bill, and prior to their vote the next day, the House removed the amendment. It was that version of the bill, fundamentally the same as the original, that returned to the Senate and was approved.