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Pot Prospects
legalization happens.
"You naturally increase your popula-
tion of users," said Glassman, who has
visited Colorado several times in recent
years to study its pot industry.
It's difficult to determine how much
demand would increase. The state and
dispensaries don't publicly disclose sales,
which aren't taxed. Under Senate Bill 11,
the state would slap a nearly 24 percent
tax on recreational pot purchases.
Tom Nicholas, CEO of Prime Wellness
in South Windsor, said his average dis-
pensary patient buys a half-ounce to an
ounce of marijuana monthly. If his experi-
ence holds true for others, the state's nine
dispensaries could be selling somewhere
between 545 and 1,089 pounds per month,
based on the 17,431 state-registered medi-
cal marijuana patients, though there are
many forms of the drug available that
could throw off that math.
Nicholas, a nurse by training who
formerly ran a dialysis company, said
legalization could cost his dispensary
some business, but he's confident there
would be an incumbent advantage for the
already licensed industry participants.
"If we had the opportunity, who better to
blaze that trail than the licensees who blazed
the trail for medical marijuana?" he said.
Existing medical dispensaries and
growers will get the first crack at adult-
use licenses in Massachusetts, and some
predict Connecticut might follow a simi-
lar regulatory path, though the current
bill doesn't include any such provision.
Employer concerns
Don Shubert, president of the Connect-
icut Construction Industries Association,
representing some 300 companies in the
state, said those employers have a hard
enough time finding qualified workers,
particularly in the wake of the 2008 reces-
sion that saw the sector take a nosedive.
He said recreational pot legaliza-
tion would "exacerbate our workforce
challenges."
Employees of contractors, builders
and various related firms often operate
heavy machinery or dangerous equip-
ment and face other safety hazards on
the worksite, so many companies have
zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policies.
"If you're going to survive in construc-
tion, safety is your protocol," said Shu-
bert, who is a member of the Stop Pot CT
Coalition.
While construction sites might be
more dangerous than many work environ-
ments, other employers would face new
uncertainties if marijuana were legalized,
said Megan Carannante, another Pullman
& Comley attorney.
Both the state's medical marijuana law
and its proposed legalization bill contain
no requirements for employers to accom-
modate or allow pot use in the workplace.
But while the medical law forbids compa-
nies from firing or declining to hire a pro-
spective employee based solely on his or
her status as a medical marijuana patient,
the legalization bill does not.
A company reviewing an employee's
conduct would have to discern whether
the employee had a medical card, and if so,
whether they were high on the job.
That's a difficult task, since unlike a
breathalyzer test for alcohol, there is no
reliable test for marijuana.
"Because THC (an active chemi-
cal in marijuana) stays in the system, a
drug test is not an accurate predictor of
impairment," Carannante said. n
For more information contact
Rennie Polk at cabaret@asd-1817.org or 860.570.2356 or
Margaret Lawson at specialgifts@cptv.org or 860.558.5026
Premier SPonSor
TiTle SPonSor PreSenTing SPonSor
Join us to celebrate the
200th Anniversary of the
American School for the Deaf
Friday, April 21, 2017
6:00 p.m.
Connecticut Convention Center
Hartford, Connecticut
Black Tie Optional
Enjoy a wonderful evening of fun, food, and music
Reserve your tickets today at
www.asd200.org
Proceeds will benefit ASD programs:
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Meet Marlee Matlin
Academy Award-Winning Actress.
