Many Connecticut cities and towns have moved quickly to impose bans and moratoriums on cannabis establishments within their borders. But local officials have been slow or have yet to establish rules regarding public consumption of marijuana within their municipalities.
Included in Connecticut’s 300-page adult-use cannabis law, parts of which went into effect last July, is a requirement that cities with a population greater than 50,000 designate a location where public consumption is allowed. The provision only applies to cities that choose to regulate the public use of cannabis. The law does not specify a deadline for selecting an area or include any enforcement measures to ensure cities comply.
Nineteen municipalities meet the population guidelines. Local officials in many of those cities have either opted not to impose any rules limiting public use — at least not yet — or are planning to treat weed the same way they do cigarettes.
Milford, with a population of about 53,000, was the first among the group to prohibit pot smoking in public including city parks and recreational areas. Across Connecticut, people can still smoke marijuana on their private property.
Milford’s Board of Aldermen voted last August to ban public consumption, use, or smoking of any cannabis-type substances and established a $50 fine for each offense. The alderman voted in October to designate a section of the sidewalk on Roses Mill Road near Barnes & Noble and the Walmart parking lot for cannabis consumption.
