NewHavenBIZ

14 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Up In Smoke By Liese Klein A s a close-in suburb of New Haven, Hamden is known for its relatively affordable homes, miles of shopping plazas and high property taxes. But as a hub of cannabis counterculture? Er, not until recently. Starting last July, several commercial properties in Hamden played host to a series of events dubbed "High Bazaars & Counter Culture Exhibitions." For a $20 ticket, attendees could listen to lo- cal bands, talk to entrepreneurs about getting into the cannabis business — and receive "gis" of the product itself, ranging from tinctures and smokable buds to THC-infused edibles. e counterculture aspect of the event was evident in the spray-painted signage, tie-dyed decor and display of ornate glass bongs from Ledyard's Ad- aptation Glassworks. Products avail- able for giing at one January High Bazaar, according to a news report, included irsty Pup THC-infused ap- ple juice, e Wizard edibles and Lava Cake bud, packaged in a baggie labeled Rise and fall of Hamden High Bazaar spotlights pitfalls, promise of state's cannabis industry by hand with a marker. "ey've definitely found a way to operate under the current law," Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett said in an interview on WFSB aired Jan. 20. "I think that they've chosen Hamden because they do feel safe here." By February, Hamden's cannabis "private event" had attracted a lot of attention and coverage from the news media. Within days of a WFSB broad- cast, the town of Hamden had applied for an injunction to stop the festivities, citing concerns about fire safety and the lack of proper permits at the High Bazaar location at 18 Crest Way. Subsequent High Bazaars planned for 295 Treadwell St. were canceled aer organizers got the thumbs-down from town officials, again citing the event's lack of permits. By March, a bill to restrict cannabis giing had been draed in the state legislature and began making its way through committees. On the last day of the session, the Senate passed the bill in a package of amendments to the state's cannabis regulations. "What this bill does is it simply tightens and clarifies a lot of the regulations," said Sen. James Maroney (D-Milford), in debate on the bill on May 4. "It's modifying existing law to clarify some situations as we saw with the giing loophole." "at is a fix that I think should be embraced by everyone," said state Sen. Kevin Witkos (R-Canton). He also raised concerns about dinner events across the state where diners sit down to dishes infused with cannabis, and was assured any such event requiring a paid ticket was prohibited under the law. Witkos, the only state Republican to vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in 2021, said of the bill, "It's closing a loophole in our law that has been ex- ploited by others to be allowed to sell in an unregulated market a regulated product." Under the new rules, any kind of giing that is not between those "with an established social relationship" is punishable by fines of up to $1,000 at both the local and state levels, along with additional fines and scrutiny from state tax officials. Testifying against the bill in earlier hearings were an array of cannabis activists and consumers seeking an al- ternative to expensive and rule-bound legal weed. "People who are willing and able to gi cannabis to others are providing a critical community service and do not deserve to be criminalized or penal- ized for doing a good deed to help people in their community," Christina E. Capitan, a Windsor resident and pa- tient advocate at the Cannabis Patient Resource Centers of Connecticut, said in written testimony. Gifting boom signals demand e rise and fall of Hamden's High Bazaar spotlights both a loophole in the state's long-debated regulatory regime for cannabis – and the potential of the nascent industry, said Benjamin Pomerantz, partner at New Haven law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey. As lead of the firm's cannabis practice group, Pomerantz works with businesses seeking to enter the state's industry and keep abreast of regulatory changes. Connecticut has been comprehensive in its attempts to regulate cannabis sales, Pomerantz said, but every new industry has its growing pains and the existence of "Gifting" of cannabis products has become popular as commercialization lags behind demand in the growing sector. Benjamin Pomerantz is a partner at New Haven law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey. FILE PHOTO

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