HARTFORD, CT – For years, cannabis advocates would rally outside the state Capitol each April. This year, they were invited into the Legislative Office Building for the first time, to participate in a conversation about how Connecticut could improve its regulations and better support patients who rely on the plant’s dried flower for pain relief and anxiety support. 

“This is the people’s house. This is your space for informing policy,” state Rep. Anne Hughes, D-Easton, told the dozens of people gathered Wednesday. “I know it doesn’t always happen the way it’s best for our justice system. Your voices are at the center of policies that impact you.”

Criminal attorney Aaron Romano, who has represented many people charged with cannabis-related crimes and was attending the forum virtually, said being able to have this conversation inside a government building is a step in the right direction. 

Medical marijuana was legalized in Connecticut in 2012. Adult-use marijuana, or recreational use, was legalized in 2021 for people 21 and over. 

Despite marijuana being legalized, there is still a lot of fear, stigma, and shame around it, according to Christina Eva Capitan of CT CannaWarriors, a community-led, grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to cannabis liberation and social justice.

Capitan, who was leading the forum, said people who are most impacted by the state’s policies and regulations deserve to be heard.

“Bringing the community together, being visible, being vocal …. My hope is that people will start to feel more comfortable talking about this,” Capitan said. 

Many who had previously been arrested and served time for cannabis convictions shared stories about how it had affected them and their families, and several mental health experts came to share stories about how cannabis products have helped their patients. 

“We do feel that medical patients need to be at the forefront of every conversation,” Capitan said. “The current program is not equitable for the medical patients in the state. When adult use came in, those patients definitely got the shaft.”

More than 40 illnesses can qualify a person for a medical marijuana card, including cancer, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autism. The legislature in 2022 voted to get rid of fees associated with obtaining a medical marijuana card, effective July 1, 2023. 

Most of Connecticut’s 31 cannabis dispensaries are hybrid providers, meaning they offer both adult-use and medical marijuana, but there are separate products and separate rules for each. The state first opened stores offering marijuana for recreational use in January 2023. 

Many people still travel out of state to buy their cannabis products because of the significant price difference from buying it Connecticut, but also because of the significantly better quality, speakers said. High levels of mold have been detected in some products sold in Connecticut, for example. 

“If the state of Connecticut was meeting the needs for patients in our state, we wouldn’t have a need for anyone to go outside that framework to get what they need,” Capitan said. 

Speakers at the forum discussed several barriers for medical marijuana patients, including lack of consistency in products offered, lack of inventory, and the lack of knowledge of marijuana products and their side effects from some pharmacists required to work in dispensaries to help distribute the products. The strains medical marijuana patients rely on often get taken off the market, one speaker said.

“Patients continually have issues with the state not hearing their struggle, and the dispensaries not caring because they are still making money off of it,” a woman identified only as Avery said. 

For people who are homebound, there are currently three delivery companies in Connecticut that can bring the products directly to a person’s home. A man identified only as Cody said he has worked as a delivery driver and seen many patients who are suffering, and these are the people who are in need but cannot show up to public forums or have their voices heard. 

“We as a company see it each day,” he said. 

Capitan said there is still time left in this legislative session for people to make their voices heard. 

“The fact that we came from outside to the inside is really, really big,” she said. “Include yourself in the conversation. Elbow your way into the room.”