Robert Celt
New Member
Outside they waved faux-American flags with pot leaves, unfurled a large banner and shouted familiar rallying cries at passersby.
But inside the Legislative Office Building Tuesday the marijuana legalization movement came ready to make a fiscal argument: If Connecticut doesn't act, another state in New England will, and lawmakers are leaving millions of dollars in potential revenue on the table at a time when the state is hurting.
"It is straight-up a race to who's going to legalize it first, and who in New England … [is] going to be able to make the taxes off of it," said Seamus Kelly of Waterbury.
About a dozen Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to legalize the sale and taxation of marijuana this session, but the legislation died in committee without a public hearing. That set the scene for Tuesday's informational hearing, to which Reps. Juan Candelaria and Toni Walker, both Democrats from New Haven, invited experts and the public to weigh in on marijuana legalization.
Dan Pabon, a state representative from Denver, was a member of a task force formed in 2013 after voters in Colorado approved a ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana.
He and his colleagues spent months diving into minutiae, including tax rates, packaging and where money raised from the sale of the drug would be directed. He reported that the Colorado program was working out well.
"We have not seen any statistical increase in marijuana use in Colorado since retail passage, we have not seen an increase in youth use since passage, we have not seen an increase in criminal activity since its passage," he said. "That's important."
Almost $1 billion of medical and recreational marijuana was sold in Colorado in 2015, bringing in more than $135 million in taxes and fees, with $40 million going toward school construction. Two years ago the legislature's nonpartisan fiscal office said Connecticut could see $25 to $55 million in annual revenue from marijuana taxes.
Jennifer Purdon, a UConn junior from Groton and president of the school's Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter, said the new revenue could fill holes in some of the state social service agencies that face the bulk of $65 million in budget cuts released last month.
Joining Pabon were a number of other panelists well-versed on drug policy including representatives from cannabis activism groups and the state's medical marijuana industry. Opponents were offered an opportunity to testify during a public comment portion, something they took offense with.
"The process is designed to be a sales job for legalization and in no fashion to examine the hazards of marijuana for Connecticut's youth," representatives from Guilford Developmental Assets, a local prevention coalition, said in a statement.
William Huhn, who serves on the council for the group, came armed with a different set of statistics than Pabon, which showed an increase in youth marijuana use in Colorado since marijuana was legalized for recreational use. He said any new tax revenue from marijuana would be offset by higher public health costs.
"What kind of message does this send to our children?" Sen. Toni Boucher, long an opponent of loosening the state's marijuana laws, said this week. "This would undermine a fundamental lesson that our schools, social service programs and parents teach our children: that taking drugs is bad for you."
Pabon, the Colorado lawmaker, said he and his colleagues carefully studied the issue for months and were able to implement a recreational marijuana program with few major issues, making adjustments along the way as needed. He said the state should be an example to others considering moving forward with legalization. It's expected that the issue will be once again before lawmakers in Connecticut next year.
"At the end of the day this is a product that can be regulated, and regulated well, as we've demonstrated," Pabon said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Advocates Make Fiscal Argument For Connecticut Legalization
Author: Russell Blair
Contact: Hartford Courant
Photo Credit: Robert Galbraith
Website: Hartford Courant
But inside the Legislative Office Building Tuesday the marijuana legalization movement came ready to make a fiscal argument: If Connecticut doesn't act, another state in New England will, and lawmakers are leaving millions of dollars in potential revenue on the table at a time when the state is hurting.
"It is straight-up a race to who's going to legalize it first, and who in New England … [is] going to be able to make the taxes off of it," said Seamus Kelly of Waterbury.
About a dozen Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to legalize the sale and taxation of marijuana this session, but the legislation died in committee without a public hearing. That set the scene for Tuesday's informational hearing, to which Reps. Juan Candelaria and Toni Walker, both Democrats from New Haven, invited experts and the public to weigh in on marijuana legalization.
Dan Pabon, a state representative from Denver, was a member of a task force formed in 2013 after voters in Colorado approved a ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana.
He and his colleagues spent months diving into minutiae, including tax rates, packaging and where money raised from the sale of the drug would be directed. He reported that the Colorado program was working out well.
"We have not seen any statistical increase in marijuana use in Colorado since retail passage, we have not seen an increase in youth use since passage, we have not seen an increase in criminal activity since its passage," he said. "That's important."
Almost $1 billion of medical and recreational marijuana was sold in Colorado in 2015, bringing in more than $135 million in taxes and fees, with $40 million going toward school construction. Two years ago the legislature's nonpartisan fiscal office said Connecticut could see $25 to $55 million in annual revenue from marijuana taxes.
Jennifer Purdon, a UConn junior from Groton and president of the school's Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter, said the new revenue could fill holes in some of the state social service agencies that face the bulk of $65 million in budget cuts released last month.
Joining Pabon were a number of other panelists well-versed on drug policy including representatives from cannabis activism groups and the state's medical marijuana industry. Opponents were offered an opportunity to testify during a public comment portion, something they took offense with.
"The process is designed to be a sales job for legalization and in no fashion to examine the hazards of marijuana for Connecticut's youth," representatives from Guilford Developmental Assets, a local prevention coalition, said in a statement.
William Huhn, who serves on the council for the group, came armed with a different set of statistics than Pabon, which showed an increase in youth marijuana use in Colorado since marijuana was legalized for recreational use. He said any new tax revenue from marijuana would be offset by higher public health costs.
"What kind of message does this send to our children?" Sen. Toni Boucher, long an opponent of loosening the state's marijuana laws, said this week. "This would undermine a fundamental lesson that our schools, social service programs and parents teach our children: that taking drugs is bad for you."
Pabon, the Colorado lawmaker, said he and his colleagues carefully studied the issue for months and were able to implement a recreational marijuana program with few major issues, making adjustments along the way as needed. He said the state should be an example to others considering moving forward with legalization. It's expected that the issue will be once again before lawmakers in Connecticut next year.
"At the end of the day this is a product that can be regulated, and regulated well, as we've demonstrated," Pabon said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Advocates Make Fiscal Argument For Connecticut Legalization
Author: Russell Blair
Contact: Hartford Courant
Photo Credit: Robert Galbraith
Website: Hartford Courant
