HARTFORD — The debate over recreational marijuana for adults raged in the House for 90 minutes Tuesday afternoon into the evening, before it was pulled from a stage-managed debate.
Democratic House leaders allowed proponents the time to bring the issue to public discussion, as a possible first step toward joining the eight other states and the District of Columbia that allow adults to possess and smoke the flowers of the plant.
Coincidentally, a floor debate could increase the chances of the issue possibly becoming a long-shot part of the budget when the special session is called sometime before the end of the regular session at midnight Wednesday. Legalization is estimated to bring in $180 million in tax revenue by the second year of the biennial budget.
The bipartisan discussion brought together lawmakers from both the left and the Libertarian right in favor of the bill, which died earlier in the session in the Judiciary Committee and would have failed in the House, Democratic leaders said.
Rep. Juan Candelaria, D-New Haven, said the legalization would result in an overall savings for law enforcement, and a way to put many illegal drug dealers out of business. “It will not be eliminated, but it will be reduced drastically,” he said. “I know it’s farfetched for us to pass this measure tonight, but this discussion should have happened three or four years ago. If we do nothing at all, we will continue to subsidize the drug dealers of our state.”
Critics of the bill including Rep. Pam Staneski, R-Milford, said legalized cannabis would send the wrong message to children.
But Rep. Melissa Ziobron, R-East Haddam, a proponent of the bill, dispelled that argument. “I do not believe marijuana is a gateway for opioid addiction,” she aid. “I believe alcohol is that gateway. The fact of the matter is that no one has died from the use of marijuana alone. This is about personal liberty. This is about a policy for our constituents.”
