Southington Pepared as State's New Medical Marijuana Law Takes Effect

As of Oct. 1, it's legal in Connecticut to buy and sell marijuana for medicinal purposes - in theory, at least.

Southington last month was the first town in the state to set zoning regulations around the law, a decision made after research by the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission's Continuous Improvement Subcommittee, and the town's regulations could become ultimately that more important as questions remain surrounding the new medical marijuana law. .

The actual law goes into effect today but it could be a while before the sale of medical marijuana becomes a bonafide Connecticut business. That's because the state still has to adopt registration procedures for those who want to buy and sell the drug.

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CT.com reports that although the law soon goes into effect, patients are unable to legally purchase marijuana or the seeds to grow their own supply. It could be another year until patients can find places to legally make the purchase as the state works out that aspect of the new law.

Despite the gap between registering and buying, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection website details how to register online for using marijuana.

When the law passed the Connecticut Senate in May, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stressed that the Department of Consumer Protection would regulate the industry to prevent any problems.          

“I understand many of the concerns raised by opponents. We don’t want Connecticut to follow the path pursued by some other states, which essentially would legalize marijuana for anyone willing to find the right doctor and get the right prescription,” Malloy said.

“In my opinion, such efforts run counter to federal law. Under this proposal, however, the Department of Consumer Protection will be able to carefully regulate and monitor the medicinal use of this drug in order to avoid the problems encountered in some other states.”

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