HARTFORD, CT — The General Law Committee defeated a bill crafting a regulatory structure for recreational marijuana by a vote of 11 to 6.
The bill didn’t technically legalize marijuana, but it would have legalized possession of up to an ounce and it would have allowed a person over the age of 21 to cultivate not more than six marijuana plants.
It also set up a licensing scheme for “marijuana lounges and marijuana retailers.”
There are at least four committees that raised bills dealing with the legalization of marijuana. This is the first of the bills to be defeated by a vote of the committee.
A proponent of legalization, Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, has said the House Democratic caucus is still 17 votes shy of passage. Democrats hold an 80-71 majority over Republicans in that chamber.
