Medical marijuana is about to become a reality in Connecticut. The legislature has legalized it and regulations governing it have been drafted by the Department of Consumer Protection and are expected to be approved in late August or September. The regulations are lengthy, thorough, and tight. The Land of Steady Habits is going to be very careful, appropriately so, about this new use, still considered controversial by many and still contrary to federal law.
Comprehensive as they are, there is a gap in the regulations that is likely to have an effect on how medical marijuana is viewed in Connecticut. Those who want to enter this business must be licensed by the Department of Consumer Protection, but before they can apply for a license, they must obtain local approval for the siting of their grow facility or dispensary. That siting approval is entirely in the hands of municipal planning and zoning commissions. The state regulations say only that a grow facility should be "in a zone where a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility would be allowed" and a dispensary should meet all local ordinances and zoning regulations. What the regulations do not say is how the facilities are to be categorized, though there is at least a hint as to the grow facilities. But questions remain about dispensaries. Are they retail stores? Pharmacies? Clinics?
