Lawmakers, trying ‘to wrest back a little’ control on cannabis, plan fixes to CT law

Recognizing a fast-changing world, a key state committee voted Tuesday to expand the overall marijuana regulation to THC-infused beverages.

Only 14 months since licensed retailers began selling recreational marijuana in Connecticut, legislators said they are trying to make sure that they regulate the products beyond edibles and traditional marijuana that is smoked.

Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican, said Connecticut is moving into a new “liquified, THC, CBD burgeoning world” that legislators had not anticipated several years ago.

“I was amazed,” Kissel told colleagues on the general law committee. “I frankly took the world and said it’s smokable marijuana or edibles. That was my mindset. I guess with anything in a free marketplace, providers are going to come up with creative ideas to sell products. … It is tandem with what I have seen in the alcohol realm. Wine sort of seems to be stable. Beer seems to be fading down, although there’s interest in different brew pubs and local kinds of beers. Now, we have these THC seltzers.”

THC, which stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, is a compound that is the key ingredient in marijuana.

“It is a brave new world when it comes to liquefied THC and CBD,” Kissel said. “I think we need more analysis on how this impacts people’s [driving] skill sets. … With the burgeoning marketplace, just what we’ve seen in the past two years, as much as you want to stay ahead of this, there’s a little bit of catch-up.”