On Monday, the finance, revenue and bonding committee became the fourth panel to hold a public hearing on recreational marijuana this legislative session. This time, on a bill that focuses on the taxation of marijuana and marijuana products sold in the state should they be legalized.

The bill, H.B. 5582, would allow Connecticut to tax marijuana and marijuana products on and after the date marijuana is legalized, though this year legalization is unlikely as one key committee has already rejected the measure and another will not be voting on the measure.

[continues 574 words]

A third committee held a public hearing on a third recreational marijuana bill Wednesday, despite a separate bill on the controversial issue facing bipartisan opposition last week.

The legislation up for hearing in the appropriations committee Wednesday, H.B. 5394, calls for developing a plan for the legalization and regulation of cannabis. Unlike the two prior bills, the third seeks to provide substance abuse treatment, prevention, education and awareness programs.

The bill would require the secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to work with the chief state's attorney and the commissioners of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Consumer Protection and Revenue Services to develop the legalization and regulation plan in "the most cost effective means."

[continues 592 words]

The idea's been floated before, but recreational marijuana's backers have so far been unable to convince the Land of Steady Habits to legalize a new one.

The legislature's General Law Committee will weigh a new bill legalizing the retail sale of marijuana at a public hearing. The hearing, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed until Thursday because of the snowstorm.

The bill, No. 5458, would allow people 21 or older to purchase up to an ounce of marijuana from a retailer or "marijuana lounge," where customers would smoke or consume their purchase on-site. Anyone 21 or older would also be allowed to grow up to six plants for personal use.

[continues 651 words]

People who were addicted to opioids and those who lost loved ones to opioid overdoses offered emotional testimony Monday urging state officials to approve medical marijuana as an alternative painkiller that could help halt Connecticut's deadly opioid epidemic.

"My passion and drive to achieve this is fueled by my personal experience battling pharmaceutical drug addiction solely with the use of cannabis," Cody Roberts of Seymour told the state Board of Physicians, which is charged with approving conditions for the state's medical marijuana program. Roberts testified he's lost eight friends in the past year to opioid overdoses, and has been addicted himself.

[continues 569 words]

In a change from the past, the legislature's general law committee will hold a public hearing on whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana.

In a change from the past, the legislature's general law committee will hold a public hearing on whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana. (Getty Images)

In a switch from the past, the legislature's general law committee will hold a public hearing on whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana.

Traditionally, committees such as public health and judiciary have had jurisdiction over the issue. But this year, legislators said the issue is being routed through the general law committee under its new House co-chairman, Rep. Michael D'Agostino, a Democrat who is running for attorney general.

[continues 303 words]

Opponents of recreational marijuana legalization in Connecticut argued Thursday it would cost the state more than it would collect in tax revenue.

Legalization would cost the state $216 million in 2020, "far outweighing even the rosiest tax projections," a report released Thursday by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a group dedicated to stopping the legalization of marijuana, says.

"Legislators are scrambling to find additional revenue," Bo Huhn, a legalization opponent, said during a Thursday morning press conference at the state Capitol complex. "But if you look at all the costs, you will find not only will we not make much, but that you lose money on the deal.''

[continues 458 words]

Teens who use a lot of marijuana and alcohol are less likely to have a full time job when they grow up, or to get a college education or get married, according to a new study by University of Connecticut researchers.

The study of 1,165 young adults from across the U.S. also found that dependence on pot and booze may also have a "more severe effect on young men" than on young women.

"This study found that chronic marijuana use in adolescence was negatively associated with achieving important developmental milestones in young adulthood." - Elizabeth Harari, University of Connecticut researcher.

[continues 282 words]

Two men were killed in Hartford in a few-hour span Friday into Saturday.

Six people were shot, two fatally, in separate narcotics-related shootings in Hartford Friday night and Saturday morning, police said.

As of Sunday morning, victim identifications were being withheld, but Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said at least one of the victims was from out of state.

Foley said the two shootings immediately appeared to be narcotics related, with heroin, cocaine and other drugs found at the scene. Police said they believed multiple guns were involved and at least one of the shootings was described as a "gunfight."

[continues 516 words]

"Hey, Mom. Have you ever smoked weed?"

The only question perhaps trickier than this would include either algebra or an unwanted marriage proposal.

I kind of thought I didn't have to worry anymore about getting asked this question. The teen questioner and I had just sat down to lunch at Plan B with his grandmother. It totally threw me off.

Years ago I remember seeing a public service advertisement by the Office of National Drug Control Policy showing a coffee mug that read "#1 Hypocrite." The organization's stance was that parents should not be honest about any past drug use with their children. If we are, it surmised, kids could look at our successful lives and think that using drugs won't negatively affect their future.

[continues 522 words]

There are good days for West Tarricone. Days when she can laugh and live like any other 9-year-old. Days when she can play with her brother, Blake, and watch "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on her iPad.

But there are also bad days. Days when her body weathers 100 seizures. Days when it has closer to 1,000 - some lasting more than 90 minutes.

Lately, she's been having more good days thanks to Connecticut's new experiment with medical marijuana.

[continues 2285 words]

As clergy, we write in support of proposals to tax and regulate marijuana in Connecticut. It may seem counterintuitive for a rabbi and a minister to adopt this view. We believe, however, that people of faith have a special responsibility to speak about what policies serve our communities best.

Of course, we recognize that marijuana should not be used by youth and can become addictive for some individuals at any age. Given these realities, our focus must be not to prohibit all use, but to respond in the most effective way to the possibility of abuse. Regulation and education - not prohibition - are the best path. We learned this a long time ago concerning alcohol.

[continues 456 words]

[photo] This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo, shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (Toby Talbot / AP)

Flanked by commissioners from a half-dozen state agencies, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced legislative pointed at prescription drugs, a dangerous pathway to opioid addiction.

"Every city and every town in the country has been touched in some way by substance abuse -- and in particular the growing prescription pain killer epidemic. Our local communities are no exception. This is a complex crisis that does not have one root cause, nor does it have a simple solution," Malloy said in a statement. "Addiction is a disease, and together we can treat and prevent it. Our work on this front will not be finished until our communities and our families are no longer struggling with the grave costs of this illness."

[continues 126 words]

[photo] In this Aug. 9, 2016, photo, a vial containing 2mg of fentanyl, which will kill a human if ingested into the body, is displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Sterling, Va. A 2mg dose of fentanyl is fatal to 99 percent of humans. A novel class of deadly drugs is exploding across the country, with many manufactured in China for export around the world. The drugs, synthetic opioids, are fueling the deadliest addiction crisis the U.S. has ever seen. (Cliff Owen / AP)

[continues 760 words]

[graphic] This motion graphic shows how OxyContin flowed out of Los Angeles.

A Washington city devastated by black-market OxyContin filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the painkiller's manufacturer Thursday, alleging that the company turned a blind eye to criminal trafficking of its pills to "reap large and obscene profits" and demanding it foot the bill for widespread opioid addiction in the community.

The suit by Everett, a city of 100,000 north of Seattle, was prompted by a Times investigation last year. The newspaper revealed that drugmaker Purdue Pharma had extensive evidence pointing to illegal trafficking across the nation but in many cases did not share it with law enforcement or cut off the flow of pills.

[continues 1302 words]

At four in the morning, the hospital's emergency department lights fluoresce directly into your brain. Everyone, everything looks green, especially the midnight heroin users. They are always shivering. Partly the withdrawal, partly the cold, damp Connecticut weather. They tend not to have proper jackets.

On a stretcher in the hallway, a 25-year-old "opioid withdrawal" is curled up with three hospital blankets pulled over his head. I gently shake his leg, but nothing is really gentle here. I introduce myself and whisper a question about what brought him in. No response.

[continues 693 words]

Three Dead From Overdoses In Hartford

[photo] Hartford police discuss what's needed to address the opioid crisis after three die in a short time from suspected opioid overdoses.

Within a 16-hour span that ended Thursday afternoon, police said that three people died from suspected overdoses. Investigators believe opioids are to blame, possibly the powerful synthetic fentanyl.

"We suspect, only based on patterns of what we've seen lately, that fentanyl will be an issue with these," Deputy Chief Brian Foley said Thursday afternoon. He noted that it's too soon to know for sure, but the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will do autopsies on the victims.

[continues 537 words]

Fighting Epilepsy: Should Children Be Given Controversial Cannabis Oil?'

Kim Hearn believes marijuana plant oil can help her 10-year-old son, who has epilepsy.

Each morning, Kim Hearn attaches a feeding tube to her son before outfitting him in specialized clothes that lend support to his torso, ankles and legs. A seizure often disrupts the process. It's a rigorous routine for this Stratford mom but it's nothing, she says, compared to what the 10-year-old, who can't speak or sit on his own, endures: "Sean just accepts it."

[continues 413 words]

A New London man guilty of selling heroin that was believed to have caused a fatal overdose was sentenced Monday to 34 months in prison, federal officials said.

Rudy Hernandez, 43, pleaded guilty in July to distribution of heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He also faces three years of supervised release.

Authorities learned that a 25-year-old man in Groton, who had fatally overdosed, had arranged to buy heroin from someone who purchased the drug from Hernandez, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

In April, law enforcement searched his home and found heroin and cocaine, according to officials.

Hernandez has been in federal custody since April.

[end]

Richard Branson, the Virgin Group Founder and self-described tie-loathing billionaire, still finds time in his busy schedule to read.

As part of Facebook's recent #ReadToLead hashtag, Branson offered up the handful of titles that kept his attention in 2016.

We can't guarantee you'll follow in the entrepreneur's footsteps, but the books could certainly set you in the right direction.

[non-drug policy sections, skipped]

"Ending the War on Drugs" by Richard Branson Amazon

Edited by Branson himself ("I couldn't resist sneaking in a book I contributed to," he writes) "Ending the War on Drugs" is a compilation of essays about the global drug war and the many failed attempts to end it.

[continues 72 words]

While the US federal government remains stubbornly opposed to legalizing marijuana, our neighbor to the north is increasingly interested in cannabis commerce and moving away from pot prosecutions.

Even as voters in more U.S. states approved legalized recreational marijuana this November - and 28 states have legalized medical marijuana - the federal government still lists marijuana as an illegal drug.

However, just north of the border, Canadian leaders have started moving in the opposite direction.

Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party, created a committee in the summer of 2016 to look into the issues surrounding making marijuana legal for recreational use across the entire country.

[continues 526 words]