Connecticut GOP Bill Would Stop Adult-Use Sales (For Now)

Connecticut House Republicans introduced legislation yesterday containing 13 proposals concerning the regulation of cannabis that would, if passed, effectively bring the state’s nascent adult-use market to a screeching halt, at least for the time-being. One proposal would “suspend retail cannabis sales until the drug recognition expert (DRE) certification program is operational,” and another would “prohibit sales of edible cannabis products.” The bill does not indicate if the latter prohibition is contingent upon certain changes.

Most of the bill’s provisions address anticipated rather than verified harms caused by adult-use legalization, including a rise in pediatric overdoses and traffic fatalities caused by impaired drivers. Among the solutions proposed to address those and other problems the legislators believe will adversely impact Connecticut, the bill establishes “a cap on the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) present in a single serving.”

The bill does not specify the cap, and the Connecticut GOP reportedly has no “specific concentration recommendation” for now, but the state does currently mandate potency limits on THC products; specifically, per the regulations, 30 percent for cannabis flower and up to 60 percent for other cannabis products.

Neither does the bill anticipate how long it will take for the DRE program to become operational, or what precisely that means, considering the state has had a drug recognition expert program in operation since 2011, with well over 50 officers trained in DRE as of 2021.

The likelihood that H.R. 5434 will pass is nil, of course; Democrats hold a 95-53 majority in the House. But its sponsors in a series of interviews said the intent was less adoption of the complete package than putting forth a mechanism to begin a dialogue within the legislature, which the sponsors believe should take the lead in regulating the industry.

“At least we’re going to have a conversation about edibles,” said Trumbull legislator Rep. David Rutigliano. The ranking Republican on the General Law Committee complained about gummy dosing in Massachusetts, where “the dose is the ear,” and, “It’s four doses per gummy,” per the lawmaker, perhaps a reference to the Tyson 2.0 product.

As a conversation-starter, the bill does contain proposals that could find bipartisan support, such as the provision “that no licensed gasoline dealer shall sell any product containing any form of tetrahydrocannabinol,” or a prohibition on “cannabis consumption in locations where alcohol consumption is prohibited,” suggesting, wittingly or not, that cannabis consumption should be allowed where alcohol consumption is allowed.

Rep. Mike D’Agostino (D-Hamden) agreed that common ground can be explored on the General Law Committee, which he co-chairs, but noted in an interview that sales of edibles will likely not be banned.

“All of the proposals in the bill will be vetted,” he assured, “and I think a number of [GOP proposals] will make it into the final bill. That said, I think there is a little bit of a divergence between the two caucuses on the overall landscape here. We don’t want to stifle it so much that we strangle a new industry and keep it from getting off the ground.”

The complete text of General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 5434 is below:

AN ACT CONCERNING THE REGULATION OF CANNABIS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

(1) Establish a cap on the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol present in a single serving, and require disclosure of the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol present in each serving and a description of its potency;

 (2) require that a label be placed on the package of each consumer product containing tetrahydrocannabinol disclosing that such product may be addictive, lead to birth defects or cause psychosis;

(3) provide that no licensed gasoline dealer shall sell any product containing any form of tetrahydrocannabinol;

(4) suspend retail cannabis sales until the drug recognition expert certification program is operational;

(5) require that each cannabis retailer employ a certified budtender and that such budtender be present at such retailer during operating hours;

(6) prohibit cannabis consumption in locations where alcohol consumption is prohibited:

(7) repeal certain restrictions on cannabis-related stops and searches of persons and motor vehicles;

(8) specify that “imminent risk of serious harm” includes a situation in which a parent or guardian visibly under the influence of cannabis drives to a school or day care facility to pick up their child and attempts to leave with the child;

(9) require that each applicant for a motor vehicle operator license who is younger than eighteen years of age complete a course concerning the effects of cannabis and its impact on an individual’s ability to operate a motor vehicle;

(10) prohibit sales of edible cannabis products;

(11) require that cannabis products be sold in child-proof containers;

(12) require the Department of Consumer Protection to (A) review and approve each cannabis product type and its dosage, (B) review cannabis tracking procedures in retail establishments and pharmacies, and (C) designate cannabis as a Schedule II controlled substance;

(13) specify that secondhand cannabis smoke is toxic to human health

H.R. 5434 was introduced by:

Rep. CANDELORA V., 86th Dist.
Rep. O’DEA, 125th Dist.
Rep. RUTIGLIANO, 123rd Dist.
Rep. ACKERT, 8th Dist.
Rep. PERILLO J., 113th Dist.
Rep. ZUPKUS, 89th Dist.
Rep. ZAWISTOWSKI, 61st Dist.
Rep. CARNEY, 23rd Dist.
Rep. CHEESEMAN, 37th Dist.
Rep. MARRA T., 141st Dist.