It has been reported that leadership of the Connecticut Legislature have agreed to adjourn the 2020 legislative session and will meet later in the year only to consider top legislative priorities. This means the effort to legalize marijuana in the state will not move forward in 2020.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) released the following statement in response:
“We are certainly in unprecedented times with statehouses nationwide being forced to prematurely end their sessions. We commend Connecticut’s legislative leaders for taking this action in the best interest of the health of its members. We were active over the last year in the state and made many in-roads with lawmakers who had many concerns with the prospect of marijuana legalization.
“Moving forward this year, it is our hope that when the legislature should choose to reconvene, the top priority of lawmakers will be focused on mitigating the impact from this pandemic, and not on opening the doors to a predatory, commercial marijuana industry.
“We have seen the industry and its team of lobbyists move to try and capitalize on the COIVD-19 pandemic, but given the myriad health and safety hazards related to marijuana use, and the damages the industry brings about on vulnerable communities, Connecticut lawmakers would be wise to put legalization efforts on the back burner.”