Cannabis gifting parties are no longer allowed in Connecticut.
Gov. Ned Lamont this week signed legislation that seeks to crack down on the unregulated cannabis bazaars that cropped up across Connecticut after the drug became fully legal here. At the events, attended by several thousand who usually paid a fee to get in, people would exchange items of value for cannabis-related products or include a cannabis product as part of a purchase of a $25 T-shirt, for example.
Municipalities can now fine residents up to $1,000 for gifting a cannabis plant or other cannabis-related product to another individual in exchange for any kind of donation, including an admission fee, or as part of any giveaway such as a swag bag. The state can also separately issue $1,000 fines for failing to pay sales taxes.
Supporters of the bill said it still allows people to gift cannabis to their friends and family provided no payment is exchanged. Cannabis advocates have asserted the legislation penalizes people for something that is supposed to now be legal in Connecticut.
Here’s what else the bill does:
— eliminate fees for medical cannabis patients
— creates a task force to study hemp production
— limits outdoor advertising for cannabis products between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. and requires them to be 1,500…
