When will you be able to buy recreational marijuana in CT? It’s unclear

Connecticut legalized adult-use cannabis last year, but it’s still unclear when recreational marijuana will be available to buy without a prescription.

Existing medical-use cultivators and retailers could be the first to offer recreational products in the market, but only a handful have applied so far to convert their operations to a “hybrid” model — producing or selling both medical and recreational pot.

Under the law, the fee to convert is $1 million for retailers and $3 million for producers, which could be prohibitive for many businesses. That rate is discounted for operators who form 50/50 “equity joint venture” partnerships with a person or business that meets certain income or residency criteria.

Another potential hitch: retail sales can’t commence until there’s an aggregate of 250,000 square feet of grow and manufacture space in Connecticut that’s devoted to the adult-use market. Officials with the Department of Consumer Protection, which administers licensing, are working with producers to track the industry’s footprint as many medical-use cultivators expand their operations.

On its website, the department explains: “The supply chain must be entirely licensed before sales can begin, including stores, testing labs, and growers, and there must be enough growing capacity to supply the retail market.” [Read more at The CT Mirror]