THC-laden products that can get a user as high as any bought in a dispensary are currently being sold around the state outside of any regulation or enforcement, even though the first legal, recreational cannabis retail shops have yet to open in Connecticut.
The state Department of Agriculture regulates the state’s hemp growers. The state Department of Consumer Protection regulates the licensed manufacturers in Connecticut who make CBD-based products. But no state agency tests or regulates the products sold in CBD shops, many of which are manufactured out of state.
Alcohol sales are regulated, as are tobacco sales. CBD shops, however, are not licensed and therefore sales of certain products with certain THC compounds go unregulated.
“Like any industry that we regulate, DCP only has regulatory authority over entities that hold a credential granted by our agency,” Department of Consumer Protection spokeswoman Kaitlyn Krasselt said.
CBD products made from hemp don’t have the psychoactive effects commonly associated with cannabis. THC, the chemical compound found in cannabis that produces the feeling of being “stoned,” cannot by Connecticut law be present in concentrations greater than 0.3 percent.
“We define cannabis as any product containing more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis, including products extracted from hemp,” said Krasselt.
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