HARTFORD, Conn. — With retail cannabis sales taking effect Tuesday, some state leaders are wondering if Connecticut's laws are ready.
The start of recreational sales is being met with excitement from some and concern from others.
The enforcement of DUIs and criminal record erasures are two big consequences of this retail legalization, some say need more work in the state legislature.
“After decades of people being punished by the war on cannabis, the launch of recreational sales will begin tomorrow,” said Marc Pelka, undersecretary of criminal justice policy and planning.
With this launch comes the erasure of nearly 44,000 low-level cannabis possession convictions.
This criminal record wipe – which kicked in January 1 – is part of the 2021 law which legalized recreational retail sales.
“People woke up on January 1 with erasure of records that had plagued them for years,” Pelka said.
Advocates say this opens up housing and employment opportunities for those whose records are wiped. Gov. Ned Lamont says this is the right thing to do.
“That war on drugs destroyed a lot of lives. Drugs destroyed a lot of lives, so did the war on drugs,” he said at a press conference Monday. “If you believe in public safety, if you believe in hope, if you believe in criminal justice, if you believe in giving people that second chance, erasure of this makes a difference.”
Some state legislators disagree.
“I think erasing records is misleading, it’s feel-good legislation,” said Sen. John Kissel (R-Enfield). “I don't think a single conviction for possession stopped anyone from getting a job.”
Kissel says records erasure is a wait and see, but believes now is the best time for retail marijuana sales to take effect.
“We're just at the inception of the legislative session and will be in session until the first week of June,” he said. “We have plenty of time to react if we need to pass some legislation.”
Some other lawmakers are already prepared to introduce bills related to cannabis sales and enforcement this session. One of those, Rep. Holly Cheeseman (R-East Lyme).
“I do not think this is a positive move for the state of Connecticut on a whole number of levels,” she said.
Cheeseman’s main worry is safety.
“We want people to get home safely,” said Sgt. Christine Jeltema of the Connecticut State Police. “We don't want any further accidents or fatalities. We’ve seen enough in the past year that we just, we don’t want to see any more.”
State police say enforcement of DUIs won’t change. The only extra measures taken before the launch of retail sales is the specialized training of troopers and local officers to be drug recognition experts.
However Cheeseman explains, she believes that’s not enough.
“If they spot a driver drinking out of an open flask out of a bottle out of a beer can they can stop that driver,” she said. “They are not permitted to do that if they see someone driving along openly smoking a joint.”
State police confirmed this and shared a warning Monday.
“One of the biggest things we really want the public to understand is even though it's legal, it's still illegal to operate under the influence,” Jeltema said.
When asked if there is anything the legislature will need to look at this session, Cheeseman said, “I think we need to perhaps, to use this analogy, take the handcuffs off our police and give them the ability to keep us safe on the roads.”
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