The marijuana legalization effort in Connecticut is running out of time, as this year’s legislative session winds to a close this week. Lawmakers have until May 9 to pass a bill pending in the House of Representatives.
But that doesn’t seem likely, according to local media. Both the House and the Senate have other bills more likely to gain lawmakers’ attention.
Last month, the House Appropriations Committee voted 27-24 to support the measure and send it to the full House. If passed, the bill alone would not technically legalize cannabis. But it would direct several state agencies to form a plan to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in the state. The law also includes provisions for the creation of substance abuse prevention, treatment, and awareness programs.
At that time, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz did not commit to bringing the measure up for a vote by the full body.
“While the bill was passed by the Appropriations Committee,” he said, “it is still early in the process and I expect we will have continued discussions within the caucus before it can be determined if it will be called for a vote in the House.”
However, the Speaker did indicate that the legislature needs to act on the matter.
“This is one of those tough crossover issues that brings both a social and economic aspect with it, and with a number of states in the region having either already approved legalization and regulation, or are trending this way, it’s clearly something that deserves to be looked at,” he said.
Activists Demonstrate at State Capitol
In an effort to spur action on the legislation, cannabis advocates demonstrated at the Capitol in Hartford on Sunday. At the rally, protestors chanted slogans and carried