Official Connecticut Notice of Delay in Legal Cannabis Sales |

A Connecticut state official said Wednesday that regulators working on the state’s legalization of cannabis have many details to work out before accepting business license applications, hinting that legal recreational sales are beginning -Marijuana could delay.

Connecticut became the fourth state to legalize adult cannabis in 2021 with the signing of a law by Governor Ned Lamont in June. The law went into effect July 1, with lawmakers originally assuming that legal recreational marijuana sales would begin in the summer of 2022.

However, Michelle Seagull, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection commissioner, said this week that the launch would likely come later.

“We have suggested that there will likely be a sale by the end of 2022, and we are still striving for that,” Seagull told local media. “Of course we have to see how things develop over the next few months.”

Seagull told the audience at a “Business of Cannabis” breakfast held Wednesday morning by the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce that state regulators are still ironing out some details of the legalization. One issue that is still under discussion is protecting the existing medical marijuana market, which went live in 2012. Connecticut now has 18 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries across the state, each authorized to apply for a license to sell recreational cannabis. as.

“It is really important to us that we maintain the medical market that currently exists,” said Seagull. “It is important to us that this market, which works well and helps many people, is not swallowed up.”

Many decisions are left to the Social Justice Council

Seagull also pointed out that many outstanding decisions, including the filing required for social justice applicants, are the responsibility of a Lamont and legislature appointed Social Justice Council. The 15-member panel met for the first time last month.

When asked about “large corporations trying to circumvent rules” to obtain social justice licenses, Seagull said the decision will be made by the Social Justice Council, which “needs to look at property and corporate documents, to understand who really controls the company “. . “

An audience member, Matthew Ossenfort, said that after 18 years in the fashion industry, he was considering a career change into the cannabis industry. He asked if the criteria for applicants could be expanded to include social justice to include race, gender and sexual identity in order to more explicitly prioritize participation in the cannabis industry by members of different groups.

“I hope the Commissioner takes this issue seriously because my biggest fear is that if you just look at qualifications based on income, there will be a number of licenses going to people who cannot afford to actually do these deals To get going. and the other licenses all go to millionaires, ”said Ossenfort. “Even medium-sized companies should have a way into this industry.”

Kurt Smith, a business breakfast panelist who advises cannabis companies with licensing, planning, licensing and design, told the audience that legalization will affect many Connecticut businesses outside of the marijuana industry.

“You are creating a whole new industry that will affect all companies in this room,” said Smith. “The capital-intensive nature of this business makes it difficult for these companies to set up and have their own infrastructure like HR and IT departments here.”

Smith is also the co-founder of Four Score, a licensed Massachusetts cannabis grower and distributor. He suggested that Connecticut should follow this state’s example in providing funding to social justice applicants, noting that “a lot of the people who get social justice licenses don’t have only $ 20,000, the sitting around hiring an architect “.

Smith also pointed out that the advent of the adult cannabis market in Connecticut will require patience and people shouldn’t expect regulations to be drawn up immediately.

“It’s going to take longer than anyone thinks,” said Smith. “It’s not going to happen on this schedule because it always takes extra time to get these things right.”