Connecticut is ready to become the next state to legalize adult-use cannabis.
With a 16 to 11 vote on Thursday, June 17, the Connecticut state legislature gave its final approval to Senate Bill 120, which legalizes cannabis possession and use for adults over 21.
Ending the Drug War
Governor Ned Lamont, who is prepared to sign the bill when it reaches his office, says that it’s fitting that legalizing adult-use cannabis in Connecticut falls on the 50th anniversary of when President Nixon began the war on drugs.
Lamont says the war, at its core, was a war on people in black and brown communities that caused injustices and disparities in Connecticut.
Governor Lamont, who also noted that the war did little to protect public health and safety, says SB 1201 will eliminate the dangerous unregulated cannabis market and support a new economic sector that will create jobs.
“The states surrounding us already, or soon will, have legal adult-use markets,” says Governor Lamont in a press release. “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 inequalities, we’re keeping Connecticut economically competitive with our neighboring states.”
Moving Connecticut Forward
Governor Lamont calls SB 1201 a comprehensive measure that protects children and the most vulnerable and will be a national model for regulating the adult-use cannabis marketplace.
Lamont says that Connecticut residents will benefit from some of the cannabis revenues that go toward prevention and recovery services.
Under SB 1201, adults can possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis (5 ounces in a locked container, locked glove box, or vehicle trunk), 7.5 grams of concentrates, or other products with up to 750mg of THC.
Home cannabis cultivation will be permissible under the new law, with a limit of three immature and three mature plants.
SB1201 also prohibits lawmakers from entering the cannabis industry for two years after leaving office.
The new law takes effect on July 1, 2021.
