Connecticut
Connecticut looks to bar out-of-state marijuana advertising
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state of Connecticut moved nearer Tuesday towards inserting more durable restrictions on marijuana promoting, together with barring advertisements from cross-border retail hashish institutions such because the billboard advertisements which have popped up alongside the state’s border with Massachusetts.
A invoice cleared the Home of Representatives, by a vote of 98-48, that stops anybody with out a Connecticut cannabis-related license from promoting the product and cannabis-services inside the state. The identical invoice additionally bars Connecticut licensees from utilizing photos of the hashish plant in addition to from promoting on an illuminated billboard between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. and from promoting inside 1,500 yards of a faculty or church.
These new restrictions could be along with the state’s authentic guidelines for hashish promoting that have been included within the legalization legislation that handed final 12 months. Whereas residents over the age of 21 can legally possess as much as 1.5 ounces (42.5 grams) of marijuana in Connecticut, retail leisure hashish institutions usually are not anticipated to start working within the state till late 2022 on the earliest.
Rep. Mike D’Agostino, D-Hamden, mentioned each Democratic and Republican legislators, particularly these representing border cities, approached the Basic Meeting’s Basic Legislation Committee this 12 months and mentioned, “Look, I am sick of seeing these billboards with hashish leaves splayed all throughout them, inside 1,500 yards throughout from a faculty or church or no matter. Cannot we do one thing extra about that?”
Reasonably than an outright ban on the promoting, which might raised constitutional points, D’Agostino mentioned this laws offers “very affordable time, place and method restrictions” whereas additionally requiring those that promote to carry Connecticut licenses.
The invoice, which now awaits Senate motion, marks the primary of what lawmakers predicted might be common updates to Connecticut legislation.
“We’ve not even begun to see the influence of this,” mentioned Home Minority Chief Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, who opposed final 12 months’s marijuana legalization invoice, predicting it is going to have a destructive influence on youngsters.
The identical invoice additionally tightens guidelines for “gifting” marijuana. Some legislators have raised issues about hashish bazaars, the place folks “barter” for marijuana, primarily circumventing the state’s regulated market, D’Agostino mentioned. Contributors may pay a canopy cost to get into one in all these occasions or purchase an merchandise, similar to a T-shirt, to acquire marijuana.
D’Agostino harassed that lawmakers usually are not banning folks from giving somebody a present of marijuana, however fairly attempting to reign in these industrial exchanges.
“You’ll be able to present to your mates and family members. You’ll be able to host a brownie occasion at your home,” D’Agostino mentioned.
The problem has been a controversial one amongst marijuana advocates, a few of whom lately staged a protest on the state Capitol grounds the place they handed out marijuana cigarettes. Some mentioned the gifting occasions have had private advantages, particularly for folks with nervousness points who won’t be capable of afford marijuana in any other case.
The invoice additionally permits doctor assistants to prescribe medical marijuana in Connecticut. Moreover, starting in fiscal 12 months 2024, the invoice eliminates the registration and renewal charges for medical marijuana sufferers. They sometimes complete about $200.