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06/30/2021 08:15 AMLegalized recreational marijuana is just around the corner, after Governor Ned Lamont signed a sweeping bill last week that will make Connecticut the 18th state to permit and regulate the sale of cannabis to adults.
State agencies are just beginning to form guidance around the 295 page bill, which will allow adults to legally possess small amounts of cannabis beginning July 1 and open up retail sales in the state at the beginning of 2023. Madison’s delegation to Hartford was split on the legislation, with freshman Representative John-Michael Parker supporting the vote and State Senator Christine Cohen twice voting against it.
At the same time Madison town leaders are beginning to plan for the many local issues likely to arise from the seismic change in availability and attitudes, ranging from questions about local regulation to law enforcement to youth health issues.
Earlier this month the Board of Selectmen (BOS) discussed putting together an ad-hoc committee to examine the many nuances around legalized marijuana, with more discussions to follow this month, according to First Selectmen Peggy Lyons.
The bill gives significant latitude to municipalities to regulate marijuana sales and use. Along with the ability to determine where and if a facility can open and sell marijuana, zoning authorities can fully ban cannabis facilities from the town. Additionally, a petition by 10 percent of voters can trigger a referendum that could also ban any sale of recreational cannabis in that municipality.
Local elected officials will also be asked to determine if residents will be allowed to smoke marijuana on outdoor town properties.
Madison Police Department (MPD) Captain Joe Race said it was still too early to discuss many of the more detailed issues around marijuana enforcement. The bill requires every police department in the state to have some officers trained as “drug recognition experts,” and allows the town to charge cannabis retailers for “necessary and reasonable safety costs” related to opening their business, up to $50,000.
One thing Race said that has been the center of conversation in law enforcement that is not explicitly addressed in the bill is hiring. Marijuana use has traditionally been grounds to decline the application of a prospective officer, but that issue has obviously become much more complicated, he said.
Marijuana also remains illegal at the federal level, Race pointed out, which would create another conflict if MPD allowed officers to use it while off-duty. At the same time, though, police departments across the state have struggled to attract new applicants, and limiting that already shrinking pool of potential recruits creates another problem, according to Race.
Perhaps the most emotional aspect of the debate over marijuana has centered on youth. Cohen cited mental health and the effects on teen brain development when announcing her opposition to the bill.
“I have been approached by countless mental health and youth organizations with valid concern after valid concern about the impacts of this legislation on our children,” she wrote on Facebook last month.
Parker, in a statement explaining his support, was careful to say he was not happy with all aspects of the bill, but had seen increases in harm prevention and youth-focused protections from when it was first proposed.
“In my ideal world we would have gone even further—but, I think the bill we got to is a good start, and I’ll look forward to working to improve this policy in the future as we learn more about its impact on our state and how we can do better,” he wrote.
Madison Youth & Family Services (MYFS) Director Scott Cochran said he had a long list of significant worries about the legislation, pointing out that it was not passed through the Public Health committee in Hartford.
“We’re very concerned about the high potency products — those are the ones that probably stand out to most of us as the most concerning parts of this legislation,” he said.
The bill sets a limit of five milligrams of THC per serving of edible cannabis — in line with Massachusetts but lower than many other states that have legalized marijuana. Research on edibles and higher-potency THC products is limited, and questions have remained regarding the ability to effectively measure and enforce these limits.
In Colorado, between 10 and 17 percent of recreational edibles over the last four years have failed to meet that state’s potency standards, according to oversight reports from its Marijuana Enforcement Division.
Cochran said as always, he will be focused on education and outreach, working with the schools and other local leaders, as well as advocating for policies to protect young people.
“The prevention efforts for youth really have to be about informing youth —not just about the dangers, but also alternatives to deal with a problem — what the alternatives to that are,” he said. “It’s hard and maybe scary to think about how hard it is to keep up with the trends.
“Ultimately it’s going to be the decision of the town whether they want any part of this industry here,” he added.
The bill allows a three percent municipal tax on cannabis sales, which can only be used for a handful of things, one of those being youth outreach and addiction services. While saying he appreciates the intent, Cochran added that the amount wasn’t enough.
Working with youth in a holistic, empathetic way will be maybe the largest direct effort of MYFS, according to Cochran offering young people help in learning the risks and addressing underlying issues with addiction or social pressures that lead to drug use.
But he said that youth-focused organizations like MYFS, drug prevention specialists, and advocates have remained unconvinced that the bill is prioritizing health over other goals, increasing risk to children and laying new paths to underage marijuana use without enough safeguards.
“Public health protections should be at a maximum,” he said. “And they simply aren’t... This isn’t going to make our jobs easier.”