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421 bills have thus far been introduced for consideration by Connecticut’s General Assembly in the 2024 legislative session, which was convened February 7 and runs until May 8. Among the bills are half a dozen that deal in some way with the state’s cannabis industry, which is regulated by the Department of Consumer Protection. House Bill 5150 is the most consequential and makes changes to current regulations in a number of areas.
Titled “An Act Concerning Cannabis And Hemp Regulation,” HB 5150 was introduced by the General Law Committee. Its purpose is to:
(1) Redefine “high-THC hemp product” and “disproportionately impacted area”;
(2) enable certain social equity applicants to engage in additional cultivation activities and apply for additional licenses;
(3) modify certain common ownership requirements concerning equity joint ventures;
(4) enable product packagers to expand their authorized activities;
(5) limit the licensing period for certain provisional cultivator licenses;
(6) modify requirements concerning the location of cultivation facilities;
(7) authorize micro-cultivators to sell cannabis seedlings;
(8) authorize hybrid retailers to provide access to pharmacists through telehealth;
(9) establish additional requirements concerning dispensary facility and hybrid retailer relocations;
(10) alter certain requirements applicable to packaging containing (A) multiple servings of cannabis, or (B) manufacturer hemp products;
(11) provide that no cannabis establishment shall engage in certain advertising; and
(12) make various minor, technical, and conforming changes to statutes concerning cannabis and hemp regulation.
Another bill – HB 5235 – covers related territory. Its purpose is to:
(1) Redefine “marijuana”, “manufactured cannabinoid” and “synthetic cannabinoid” for the purposes of various statutes concerning cannabis regulation;
(2) require the Commissioner of Consumer Protection to designate any synthetic cannabinoid as a schedule I controlled substance;
(3) provide that (A) cannabis shall not contain any synthetic cannabinoid, and (B) no cannabis establishment may sell any synthetic cannabinoid;
(4) modify certain provisions that prohibit members of the Social Equity Council and certain employees of the council or the Department of Consumer Protection from holding certain interests in, or receiving certain moneys from, certain cannabis establishments or cannabis transactions;
(5) specify that hemp that is lawfully produced under federal law may be transported or shipped through this state; and
(6) make minor, technical, and conforming changes to various statutes concerning cannabis regulation.
Notably, HB 5150 contains a provision that would seem to put an end to product discounts or other promotions. The language reads:
Cannabis establishments shall not “engage in advertising or marketing that includes a discounted price or other promotional offering as an inducement to purchase cannabis or any cannabis product.”
The prohibition is slightly vague, however, in that it couches the prohibition in terms of advertising and marketing, which suggests a discount could possibly still be rendered at the point of sale, bypassing advertising and marketing altogether. If marketing also means prohibiting a discount from appearing on an online menu, that may present an issue for the retailer and the sales platform, but a work-around will surely be conceived in very short order. I am also looking for HB 5150’s sister bill prohibiting retailers and producers from raising prices during times of product scarcity. Haven’t located it yet.
For those interested in experiencing the brain-numbing (but consequential) proceedings of a state legislative session, House Bill 5150 (and the other cannabis bills) keep an eye out for CBE’s coverage of the highlights of last week’s session in Tuesday’s e-newsletter.
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