Legalizing recreational marijuana will be a major priority for Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and the state lawmakers this year.
Lamont said the bill would lower barriers to entry to allow smaller vendors into the industry.
“We’re giving people an opportunity here. Helping businesses grow, especially in those distressed communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs,” Lamont said.
State Representative Michael D’Agostino of Hamden said the bill has more momentum this year than in past years, when it stalled in the General Assembly.
“The difference this year, obviously, is it’s got the full weight of the Governor’s office behind it. In addition to that is what we’re seeing in our neighboring states. There’s now more of an urgency that everybody’s starting to realize we have to do something and if we don’t, we’re going to be impossibly left behind,” D'Agostino said.
The bill would make it legal to possess up to 1.5 ounces of recreational marijuana. And those with previous marijuana convictions would have their records expunged under the bill.
Supporters say the recreational marijuana industry could bring the state more than $30 million in revenue a year by the end of 2023, and that revenue would be distributed to municipalities.
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