Story at a glance
- Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill Thursday legalizing the use and sale of Marijuana.
- “The law that I signed today begins to right some of those wrongs by creating a comprehensive framework for a regulated market that prioritizes public health, public safety, criminal justice, and equity,” Lamont said in a press release.
- “This measure is comprehensive, protects our children and the most vulnerable in our communities, and will be viewed as a national model for regulating adult-use cannabis,” Lamont added.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a bill Thursday legalizing the use and sale of marijuana, making his state the 19th to do so.
Under the new law, adults 21 and older may possess up to 1.5 ounces and “no more than 5 ounces in their homes or locked in their car truck (sic) or glove box,” according to a news release. Retail sales are not expected to begin before 2022. Additionally, certain marijuana-related convictions between Jan. 1, 2000 and Oct. 1, 2015 will be erased.
The law will take effect July 1.
“The law that I signed today begins to right some of those wrongs by creating a comprehensive framework for a regulated market that prioritizes public health, public safety, criminal justice, and equity,” Lamont said in a press release.
“This measure is comprehensive, protects our children and the most vulnerable in our communities, and will be viewed as a national model for regulating adult-use cannabis. By signing this into law today, we are helping our state move beyond this terrible period of incarceration and injustice.”
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State lawmakers previously expressed confidence that a regulated cannabis market place would resemble other efficient systems used in the sale of tobacco.
“We will have a regulated product, a taxed product and a system for use by adults, as we have for tobacco, as we have for alcohol,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, per The Associated Press.
Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said in a press release that the legislation represents the idea that use of marijuana by adults should not be a crime, and those who carry the stigma of a criminal record for their past use of cannabis should receive relief.
“Regulating cannabis, rather than criminalizing it, has proven to be a superior public policy — which is why more and more states are rapidly moving in this direction,” Armentano added.
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