Look, we’ve talked about this before. More than once. Hell, I’ve practically worn out the keystrokes ranting about Connecticut’s weed policies — but somehow, this nonsense keeps popping up in my feeds like a bad edible trip that just won’t end. So here we are again, dragging these two legislative stink bombs — SB 970 and HB 7181 — back into the light where they belong.
Because apparently, they still need to be talked about. Loudly. Repeatedly. Preferably while shaking a can of infused seltzer in rage.
SB 970 rolls up like it’s just some harmless hemp housekeeping — maybe a new label here, a revised fee there. But no. Inside that polite little package is a big fat tax hike and a direct cash funnel to the Department of Consumer Protection’s (DCP) Enforcement Account. That’s right — $1 per infused drink, straight into the pockets of the people who think a THC gummy is grounds for a cease-and-desist.
Oh, and for our friends running extract businesses or importing edibles from out of state: get ready to cough up $375 annually for the privilege of being regulated to death.
And just for fun, they cut the fee for hemp certs — probably to lure in more unsuspecting operators before unleashing the paperwork Kraken.
But wait! There’s more! Enter HB 7181, a bill so aggressively anti-consumer it might as well come with a DARE bumper sticker. This gem gives DCP the kind of unchecked power that would make a Bond villain blush:
Civil fines for gifting weed.
Cease-and-desist orders without a judge.
Seizures and surveillance with no real due process.
Basically, if you so much as share a joint at a barbecue, you might as well be running a cartel.
And the best part? They’re funding this crackdown with money that was supposed to go toward equity. That’s right — remember HB 6863, the one that was supposed to help communities harmed by the War on Drugs? Yeah, all those good intentions got rerouted into a slush fund for kicking down doors and handing out citations like candy at a 5th grade parade.
Let’s do a quick comparison:
Texas (yes, Texas) lets cities decriminalize, tolerates low-THC dispensaries, and hasn’t created a small army to arrest people over gummies.
Connecticut wants to tax you for drinks, punish you for sharing, and call it progress.
I’ve said it before, but it hits different every time: we legalized cannabis to stop the War on Drugs — not rebrand it with pastel-colored logos and a state-backed raid fund.
Until we stop confusing “regulation” with “oppression,” this fight’s not over. So yeah, we’ve talked about it before. And we’ll keep talking. Because Connecticut clearly hasn’t listened yet.
Keep it weird,
~-JohnsJoints
