In the weeds: Marijuana in Connecticut explained

By Garret Reich and Emily DiSalvo

Marijuana has been legal in Connecticut since July 2021, but municipalities across the state are still deciding whether they want a cannabis businesses to come to town.

Just because the state has legalized marijuana, doesn't mean it's a free for all, particularly when it comes to opening marijuana-related business. The state law gives towns and cities the jurisdiction to decide when and how to allow cannabis business.

"In the medical context, there were statutes and there were licensed procedures and application procedures that were established," Jackie Kaufman, partner at Carmody Law Firm, said. "It included a zoning element so one would have to get local approval in their town. Some towns had a complete ban on medical cannabis and others did not."

According to Hearst Connecticut, over 40% of towns have opted to restrict cannabis businesses, at least temporarily.

For municipalities that do ban dispensaries, Kaufman said she hopes they have a strong justification why they don't want them.

"There needs to be a community-based reason why they would ban it and it has to be well-documented," Kaufman said.

In East Haven, Connecticut, Zoning Enforcement Officer Joseph Budrow and the rest of the planning and zoning commission, decided to enact a six-month moratorium so the town had time to read the over 300 pages of legislation before making the best decision for the town.

"In the end, I think the planning and zoning commission is going to be open to perhaps in our industrial areas, allowing cultivation, perhaps a producer," Budrow said.

Benjamin Pomerantz, also of Carmody Law Firm, explained that there are 56 different licenses of cannabis establishments that towns can decide to allow and then enter a lottery for. These include micro-cultivators, retailers and product manufacturers.

Those communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs will have first dibs at the lottery to open a cannabis business. The application window for these "Disproportionately Impacted Area Cultivators" opened in early February.

In East Haven, Budrow said that some tax revenue generated from eventual cannabis establishments will be directed to social equity initiatives. But with their moratorium set to expire in June, when will East Haven residents see cannabis businesses popping up around town? It could be some time.

"We can take in applications I guarantee they're all going to have to go to the planning and zoning commission for public hearings and that's at least a two month process so, if we are progressive we might have some approvals by October," Budrow said. "That would be the most optimistic. And then they could be up and running by January."