Recognizing a fast-changing world, a key state committee voted Tuesday to expand the overall marijuana regulation to THC-infused beverages.
Only 14 months since licensed retailers began selling recreational marijuana in Connecticut, legislators said they are trying to make sure that they regulate the products beyond edibles and traditional marijuana that is smoked.
Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican, said Connecticut is moving into a new “liquified, THC, CBD burgeoning world” that legislators had not anticipated several years ago.
“I was amazed,” Kissel told colleagues on the general law committee. “I frankly took the world and said it’s smokable marijuana or edibles. That was my mindset. I guess with anything in a free marketplace, providers are going to come up with creative ideas to sell products. … It is tandem with what I have seen in the alcohol realm. Wine sort of seems to be stable. Beer seems to be fading down, although there’s interest in different brew pubs and local kinds of beers. Now, we have these THC seltzers.” THC, which stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, is a compound that is the key ingredient in marijuana.
“It is a brave new world when it comes to liquefied THC and CBD,” Kissel said. “I think we need more analysis on how this impacts people’s [driving] skill sets. … With the burgeoning marketplace, just what we’ve seen in the past two years, as much as you want to stay ahead of this, there’s a little bit of catch-up.”
State Rep. Michael D’Agostino, a Hamden Democrat who co-chairs the committee, agreed with Kissel that lawmakers need to change with the times.
The THC beverages, for example, could only be sold in highly regulated package stores and not in convenience stores or restaurants. They also could only be sold to those aged 21 and over, just like alcohol. The products could have up to 2.5% THC per container.
“It’s a rapidly, rapidly evolving regulatory regime that we need to respond to,” D’Agostino said. “Maybe it’s destined to be the same as liquor, and in 10 years we’ll be debating whether or not the infused beverages will be in supermarkets. … It’s a fascinating discussion that I never thought I would be part of when I got elected [12 years ago] to the legislature.”
Both marijuana and alcohol are highly regulated as the state’s consumer protection department and the state attorney general have the power to oversee the industries.
“Once we go outside of the structure we created, we lose some element of control,” D’Agostino said. “This bill is an attempt to wrest back a little bit of that control by trying to shoe-horn these other products into the regulatory structure that we’re familiar with.”
D’Agostino cautioned that the proposed level up to 2.5% THC in the bill could be changed in the future.
“Don’t get hung up on the limits,” he urged fellow lawmakers.
The state attorney general, D’Agostino said, would be given increased power under the bill for “some fairly significant fines … some very heavy fines on the owners of that business” for selling THC-infused beverages in places where they would be illegal, such as convenience stores.
“We’ve created a municipal enforcement option,” D’Agostino said. “If a town has a vape shop in its borders, and their health department goes in and sees cannabis products that should be in our regulated stores, they can go and shut down that store. We’ve imposed a fine structure, and we’ve allowed municipalities to keep some of those fines. We’ve got a dual civil enforcement with the attorney general’s office and with our municipalities.”
Republicans joined in a bipartisan effort for the bill.
“This bill represents the best of this committee,” said Rep. Dave Rutigliano of Trumbull, the committee’s House ranking member. “It really is what we do here in the general law committee.”
The bill passed Tuesday with bipartisan support. All bills are subject to approval by the full House of Representatives, state Senate, and Gov. Ned Lamont before the regular legislative session adjourns on May 8.
House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford is calling for stronger oversight of the marijuana industry.
“Businesses licensed as tobacco shops, gas stations, convenience stores and other entities across the state are selling cannabis and high-THC hemp products illegally without the appropriate cannabis retail license,” Candelora told the committee in written testimony. “While penalties exist for individuals that sell cannabis directly, the owners of these shops can continue to operate and sell these products since currently the Department of Consumer Protection has no enforcement authority over nonregulated retailers. Businesses that are not licensed cannabis facilities do not follow the same age verification process and requirements as those legally operating under a license. This is concerning because it allows children to come into contact and be influenced by cannabis at a young age.”
More regulation, he says, would help solve the problem by ensuring that any business selling marijuana illegally would be subject to the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
“This would allow [state consumer officials] to investigate the violation,” Candelora said, “and ask the attorney general to seek certain court actions, which include restraining orders, awarding actual and punitive damages, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees; and impose civil penalties.”
H/T: HartfordCourant
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