“Optimism abounds” as Connecticut lawmakers work to advance a bill to legalize marijuana, House Speaker Matthew Ritter (D) said on Tuesday. Ritter made the comment during a virtual press briefing alongside Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D) and Judiciary Co-chair Steven Stafstrom (D) after the lawmakers were asked about the state of negotiations in the legislature to reconcile various pieces of cannabis legislation, including a plan put forward by Gov. Ned Lamont (D) last month. Rojas said he “wouldn’t say we’re close, but we’re not far off either,” adding that “in principle, equity is important to both the administration and the legislature, and we’re going to work through those details.” To that end, the majority leader said that working groups have been formed in the Democratic caucuses of the House and Senate to go through the governor’s proposal and a separate legalization bill introduced in the House Labor and Public Employees Committee last month.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/16/2021 14:41:00