Connecticut Seriously Studying Cannabis Industry Via UConn Symposium

STORRS, CT — A month into the legalization of adult-use cannabis sales in the state, Connecticut is getting serious about studying the industry not only in terms of usage, but as a business and the science behind it all.

The University of Connecticut this week announced it will be hosting a symposium on cannabis March 16 and 17, on the main campus in Storrs. Topics covered will include cannabis genetics and biology, clinical applications of cannabis, enhancing cannabis production and cannabis law, UConn officials said.

The symposium aims to "create a space for scientists, scholars, students and the business community to connect and share information on the emerging field of cannabis research."

UConn has been a leader in cannabis research "for some time," said interim vice president for research S. Pamir Alpay.

“We are hopeful that this conference will serve as a nexus for conversation and networking between industry and academia," Alpay said.

UConn turned a few heads about four years ago, when it announced it would be offering the nation’s first university-level class on the fundamentals of cannabis horticulture. UConn researchers also began conducting research focused on micropropagation, molecular genetics, economics of cannabis and the human health impact.

The university has also not been shy about supporting technology commercialization and workforce development related to the cannabis industry.

One speaker scheduled for the symposium is pre-eminent cannabis scholar Aron Lichtman from Virginia Commonwealth University. Lichtman is an international expert on the pharmacological effects of cannabinoids on behavior, pain intervention, and disease.

To learn more and register to attend the UConn Cannabis Symposium, visit the event website.

The symposium is being announced a month after Gov. Ned Lamont announced that first legal retail sales in Connecticut of adult-use cannabis to all adults aged 21 and older. The licensed retailers were permitted to begin selling cannabis products on Jan. 10. The industry will have two months of retail statistics for the symposium.

Lamont said the opening of the adult-use cannabis market in Connecticut marks the start of an expanded cannabis industry that "prioritizes the safe and equitable regulation of adult-use cannabis, as well as the preservation of the medical marijuana market, which continues to serve nearly 50,000 patients in the state." The law implementing the measures was signed by Lamont in 2021 and contains "comprehensive reforms addressing equity, criminal justice, public health, and public safety."

Lamont said he expects the new industry to bring "hundreds of new, good-paying jobs to Connecticut as businesses continue to open and expand, including work in production and jobs directly handling cannabis products, as well as industry support like technical jobs, administrative and information technology positions, and security."

For example, a farm in South Windsor and indoor plant proposed for Manchester have emerged on the production end of things.

Lamont said the law takes a "comprehensive approach to promoting social equity, focused on the neighborhoods most impacted by the war on drugs. It provides for expungement of past cannabis-related crimes and reserves half of all cannabis business licenses for people from impacted neighborhoods. In addition, more than half of the revenue from cannabis sales will be dedicated to a new fund that will be invested in those neighborhoods."

He added, "(The law) marks a turning point in the injustices caused by the war on drugs, most notably now that there is a legal alternative to the dangerous, unregulated, underground market for cannabis sales."

The move does not come without a potential for substantial state revenue. There are three taxes on the retail sale of cannabis, including the state's usual 6.35 percent sales tax, a 3 percent sales tax for hosting municipalities and a tax based on THC content that will cost approximately 10 percent to 15 percent of the sale price, Lamont said.

Opening the opening day lineup was:

• The Botanist – Danbury (Danbury)
• The Botanist – Montville (Montville)
• Fine Fettle Dispensary – Newington (Newington)
• Fine Fettle Dispensary – Stamford (Stamford)
• Fine Fettle Dispensary – Willimantic (Willimantic)
• RISE Branford (formerly Bluepoint Wellness of Connecticut) (Branford)
• Still River Wellness (Torrington)
• Zen Leaf Meriden (formerly Willow Brook Wellness) (Meriden)

The state also has a dedicated cannabis site — ct.gov/cannabis.