Connecticut to Consider Recreational Legalization

The liberal area of New England has been one of the corners of the country moving quickly to legalize, and now with recreational legalization in 2018 guaranteed for Massachusetts, Connecticut may soon follow suit.

According to the New Haven Register, New Haven Democratic Representative Juan Candelaria said that 2017 is the time to put recreational cannabis on the ballot and move forward to legalization.

“We have a fiscal crisis in the state of Connecticut,” Candelaria told the Register in reference to the fact that he feels his state is behind the times. “Do we want to see tax money that we so desperately need leaving our state and being spent in Massachusetts? No, we don’t.”

Candelaria feels that the potential is there in his state to legalize because of how successful medical cannabis has been. There are 13,440 cannabis patients in the state, and there is even a new law that allows those under 18 to use non-smokeable cannabis if they have a serious condition like epilepsy. The state has a history of liberal measures when it comes to cannabis, as the substance is also decriminalized, and Candelaria and other supporters feel there is a definite market for more. He even believes that if legalization were to happen quickly enough, Connecticut could beat out Massachusetts and gain some of the recreational profits for themselves.

“We have an opportunity,” Candelaria related to the Register, “to beat Massachusetts to the punch if we move quickly on this. We can be in business—first.”

A poll conducted in March 2015 by Quinnipiac University revealed that 63 percent of voters in the state support legalization.

Dannel P. Malloy, Democratic Governor of Connecticut, feels he “did his part” when it comes to legalization, since he already helped with medical legalization and decriminalization, but even he admits that legal cannabis in Massachusetts would change things in terms of revenue and priority.

It is yet to be seen whether legalization is right around the corner for Connecticut, but with the trend continuing in their part of the country, they are sure to keep up with the competition.