Advocates make new push to legalize recreational marijuana in Connecticut

Proponents of legal cannabis in Connecticut said there’s a better than average chance a bill will pass in 2021, while opponents said the old barriers still haven’t been removed.

“I’m hoping there isn’t a stumbling block to passing legislation this year,” said state Rep. Steven J. Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Judiciary. “I find it fairly frustrating that this appears to be one of those bills where the public is more progressive on it than the legislature appears to be. It’s time to get this done.”

For several years, cannabis has been legal in Massachusetts — Connecticut’s neighbor to the north — while New Jersey, the most recent state on the eastern seaboard to legalize marijuana by ballot initiative, has begun crafting authorizing legislation to change the laws on the books. New York appears ready to follow suit.