Tough Challenges Following the Launch of CT Marijuana

Shangri-La and other “social equity” partnerships — key players in a system designed for most cannabis businesses to be run by local, less-wealthy owners in cities badly scarred by the drug war — are 7. A recreational hot pot shop for adults that is not in the middle of medical care opened today.

Startups have days where they ring up loud and loud and cash sales. By the end of 2023, he could have more than 100 cannabis retail outlets open in Connecticut for adults over the age of 21. Twenty-nine of those stores have been approved by the state’s Department of Consumer Protection to sign store leases. Most are controlled (at least in name) by social equity owners.

For now, social equity owners like Cerda are at a disadvantage because the clinic is off to a head start. But even some people who advocate for owners of social equity say that’s fine.

Ginne-Rae Clay, Executive Director of the State Social Equity Council, said:

The broader questions as you light up the fat to cheer for today’s launch are: What will the Connecticut markets look like after the excitement subsides, say, five years from now? The state’s Byzantine efforts to ensure the right people control the markets will prove worthwhile do you want?

And what about that money the Clays are talking about? Will Connecticut’s coffers, and the state’s new Social Equity Fund that supports these target areas, benefit permanently from the marijuana trade?

Two big challenges

Simply put, when the law passed by Congress in the spring of 2021, signed with fanfare by Gov. It means less rights.

And that’s okay, Lamont and the bill’s co-sponsors both said Monday. And it ruins the dangerous underground market.

Two major challenges: First, cannabis is quickly becoming a competitive landscape, especially in small states with high upfront costs, low profit margins, and consumers with a wide variety of weed options. .

Second, trying to give the wealthy and underpowered control of business in new industries (an effort my colleague Julia Bergman and I have documented) will stop Georgia football from attacking. Small wins are the best we can hope for.

Senator Gary Winfield, D-Newhaven, the main architect of the law, is not discouraged.

“There are realities that we have to deal with,” he said Monday, following an event in Hartford where he and Lamont promised to speed up the delayed cleanup of past marijuana convictions. rice field.

“Many of the people who actually belong to the group that we had in mind when we enacted the Social Equity Act haven’t started where they can actually participate,” Winfield said.

Delaying Tuesday’s launch for them to catch up didn’t help much. are you working?”

He is dedicated to working in the community and tinkering with laws that are naive to him. Either way, Winfield is very excited about his equity in his fund. The fund currently stands at $55 million in licensing fees and is set to expand significantly with cannabis taxes.

Equity social ownership of producers, retailers, product manufacturers and other businesses creates direct wealth for the communities they serve. That’s great. But just minting a few millionaires isn’t enough to undo or undo some of the policies we had. Not really, but it goes a long way.”

Ownership is now in the spotlight, Winfield thought. “What I want to do is shift people’s attention from the shiny things that matter to the important things that don’t shine.”

“Not a profit play for me”

As for money, a bipartisan legislative budget analyst predicts that by 2026, the state will receive $73 million in annual revenue. Based on what other states are seeing, we recommend setting your sights low.

We’ve never opened adult sales at a time when whole states could easily buy what they needed in neighboring states. In Massachusetts, bud prices have plummeted, and he has announced that one of his 12 stores in Northampton will close in the second half of 2022, as he has opened more than 225 stores so far.

Connecticut already has a strong medical market with 50,000 approved patients, and purchases tend to be high. And they don’t pay taxes. Additionally, the state will allow all adults to grow their own plants starting later this year. Medical patients can already do so. To cap off a difficult climate, New York is nearing the launch of general retail, and even before that, trucks are cruising the streets hawking frozen foods like ice cream and tacos.

About 26 new Connecticut cultivators to set up grow labs in the target area are being licensed, adding 4 “micro cultivators” to the 4 large existing growers.

Lamont isn’t worried about the money and is confident the social equity market will mature. “This is not for me to make money, it’s a carefully regulated marketplace and much safer than other markets….I’m glad that what used to belong to Underworld is out now. think.”

Of course, as he had bet on the first day of sports betting, he asked if he would buy ganja on Tuesday. “I don’t think that’s what I’m trying to do,” he told the three of us.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com