Connecticut General Assembly To Hold Hearing Tuesday On Proposal To Regulate and Tax Marijuana
Sponsors of four separate bills to regulate and tax marijuana — including H.B. 5314, which will be considered by the Public Health Committee on Tuesday— will join the newly formed Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana to express support for ending marijuana prohibition
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Public Health Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday on H.B. 5314, one of four proposals to regulate and tax marijuana for adult use that have been introduced this year in the General Assembly. Prior to the hearing, the sponsors of all four measures will join additional lawmakers and the newly formed Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana (CCRM) for a news conference at 9:30 a.m. ET in Room 1B of the Legislative Office Building. The hearing is scheduled to begin one hour later in Room 1D.
H.B. 5314, sponsored by Rep. Melissa Ziobron (R-East Haddam), directs the Department of Consumer Protection to establish a regulated system of marijuana cultivation and sales for adults 21 years of age and older. The Department of Revenue Services would create a tax structure that would generate revenue for the state and certain municipalities.
“One of my goals in proposing legislation to legalize marijuana is to promote a healthy and substantive discussion on the issue,” Ziobron said. “I feel that the legalization of marijuana is inevitable and, as such, Connecticut should be at the forefront of the movement in order to set the standard for effective policy.”
Ziobron and the sponsors of three similar proposals — Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Reps. Juan Candelaria (D-New Haven) and Toni Walker (D-New Haven) — have agreed to work together to end marijuana prohibition in Connecticut and ensure whichever bill moves forward will create the best system possible for regulating and taxing marijuana.
“The vast majority of voters in Connecticut think it is time to end marijuana prohibition and start regulating it similarly to alcohol,” said CCRM Director Sam Tracy. “Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and to society. It should be produced and sold by tightly regulated, taxpaying businesses, not by criminals in the underground market.”
Nearly two-thirds of Connecticut voters (63%) support making possession of small amounts of marijuana legal for adults, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll conducted in March 2015.
WHAT: Public Health Committee hearing on H.B. 5314, a proposal to regulate and tax marijuana for adult use, preceded by a news conference at which lawmakers and advocates will join together to voice support for ending marijuana prohibition in Connecticut
WHEN: News conference at 9:30 a.m. ET; committee hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. ET
WHERE: News conference in Room 1B of the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave., Hartford; committee hearing in Room 1D
WHO: Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (health permitting), sponsor of S.B. 11
Rep. Melissa Ziobron, sponsor of H.B. 5314
Rep. Juan Candelaria, sponsor of H.B. 5539
Rep. Toni Walker, sponsor of H.B. 6518
Rep. Angel Arce
Rep. Josh Elliot
Rep. Robyn Porter
Aaron Romano, Bloomfield defense attorney and former prosecutor
Jim Miron, former mayor of Stratford
Rev. Alexander Sharp, director of Clergy for a New Drug Policy
Sam Tracy, director of the Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana
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The Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana is a coalition of citizens, organizations, and community leaders working to end marijuana prohibition in Connecticut and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. For more information, visithttps://www.RegulateCT.org.
