Compromise efforts continue to move forward in the Connecticut Congress, but they may not be moving fast enough. The legislative session ends in less than a month, on June 9th. And a compromise of current competing bills has yet to make it to the House floor for a vote. It must go through the House before it moves to the governor’s desk. And Governor Lamont (D) is patient waiting for a compromise to make it to him for his signature. However, the legislative session is coming to an end, so Connecticut lawmakers may be called into a special session to finish their work.

Legalization Timeline

Governor Lamont has been calling for recreational cannabis legalization since the beginning of the year. One reason has been to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Many people are travelling out of state to New Jersey, and now New York, where recreational cannabis was legalized earlier this year. And by travelling, the spread of Covid continues despite best efforts. If recreational cannabis is legalized in Connecticut, this unnecessary spread could stop and more people would be kept safe. 

Even in February, Governor Lamont introduced his own legalization plan to the House in order to get a jump start on the legalization process. However, the bill has received some animosity from lawmakers as it doesn’t fully embrace social equity as other states have. But Governor Lamont said that the bill is just a framework. Things can be added and removed to make the bill as best it can be. But that is the last that was heard about the governor’s bill. 

Possible Outcome

But lawmakers are still discussing cannabis legalization. It hasn’t been forgotten despite no updates from Connecticut’s lawmakers themselves

“It’s just one of those issues that we’re working through some of the details that were of concern to everyone over the past couple months, but we’re making progress,” House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D) said during a recent press conference. The House Speaker, Matt Ritter (D) joined in and said, “If we can find a path to a deal, it’s the kind of thing that I think you could always go into overtime if you had to. We’d all be comfortable coming to a special session for that issue.” 

There are prospects that legalization could still come this year. And Governor Lamont is determined to see this happen. If it doesn’t, then the matter will be brought before voters in the 2022 election. A recent study from Sacred Heart University showed that 66 percent of voters approve of recreational cannabis legalization in Connecticut. 

Future

“Marijuana is sort of interesting to me,” Governor Lamont said in a recent press conference. “When it goes to a vote of the people through some sort of a referendum, it passes overwhelmingly. When it goes through a legislature and a lot of telephone calls are made, it’s slim or doesn’t pass. We’re trying to do it through the legislature. Folks are elected to make a decision, and we’ll see where it goes. If it doesn’t, we’ll probably end up in a referendum.”

Hopefully cannabis reform can come soon to the people of Connecticut by the end of 2021. If not, 2022 isn’t too far away anymore. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest.

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.