This is, in my opinion, a good development for Connecticut’s cannabis industry as well as the state.
Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection will remove oversight and enforcement of cannabis industry to the Drug Control Division of its agency less than a week after state officials apologized over what seemed like a retaliatory visit at a marijuana cultivation facility.
According to the announcement made by the Department of Consumer Protection on Wednesday, licensing and regulatory functions as well as inspections will be moved into a separate department within DCP. Lila McKinley is the attorney at the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) who worked on the Connecticut adult-use cannabis regulations.
A spokesperson for the department said that although this regulatory change was already in development before officials from Oregon were forced to issue an apology over the incident at the Portland cultivation facility, its implementation has been accelerated.
DCP officials informed all the cannabis licensees in the state of its creation on Wednesday. The new office will be responsible for both recreational and medical marijuana.
In a message addressed to license holders, it was stated: “For almost a year we’ve been considering organizational changes to better serve your growing and complex industry.” The message to license holders said, “This change reflects the evolving nature of your industry. We are restructuring our organization in order better meet your regulatory demands.”
Bryan Cafferelli said, as the commissioner for consumer protection of the state, that the current way in which the cannabis industry was regulated made sense, when dispensaries could only sell medical marijuana. He said that the state’s oversight function must change, now that Connecticut businesses are selling recreational marijuana worth tens and millions of dollars every month.
Cafferelli, in a recent statement, said that the restructuring of Connecticut’s Drug Control Division had been planned for almost a year. “We have considered the best ways to address the complex needs of the marijuana industry and ensure the continued success of our regulatory system of Connecticut’s pharmaceutical sector,” he added.
He added, “Our agency adapts to both meet the needs and protection of public health and security and industries.”
Rep. Roland J. Lemar, (D), co-chairman of the General Law Committee said that he welcomed the reorganization, under McKinley. McKinley has been working at DCP since more than 10 years and was most recently the legal program manager for the Drug Control Division.
From my perspective, I think this is an important development for both the state of Connecticut and its cannabis industry. She has an excellent relationship with industry. Lemar stated that she is an experienced attorney and has dealt with a variety of problems over the last few years.
Rodrick J. Marriot, who is by profession a pharmacist, will stay on as the Director of DCP’s Drug Control Division. The division will continue its regulation of pharmacies and providers and producers and controlled substances.
Under Marriott’s direction, state inspectors of the Drug Control Division visited Affinity grow’s cultivation facility unannouncedly last month.
DCP officials declined to reveal who ordered the inspection. It took place just a few days after Rino Ferarese (chief executive of Affinity) criticized state testing protocols on recreational marijuana at a legislative meeting.
Cafferelli apologized the next day for the incident and did not suggest that there was any legitimate reason behind what he called an unannounced “compliance check.”
Some owners of marijuana businesses in California said that, before Wednesday, they had no idea DCP was planning to move regulatory oversight over their business to a separate division. They believed that the change would benefit the state as well as their business.
Ben Zachs is an executive at Fine Fettle which runs multiple dispensaries across Connecticut. He said that the shift to a cannabis-only division shows the maturity and growth of this industry in Connecticut.
Zachs noted that Connecticut has a growing number of cannabis-related companies. The rate at which this is happening requires state regulators to pay more attention.
He added, “I believe it is good that cannabis be treated separately.” The focus on the scale and priorities need to be changed.
Zachs said the DCP had done a good job managing the industry. McKinley is a familiar face to all in the rapidly growing marijuana industry.
We’ve been working with Lila now for many years. Zachs stated, “I’ve found Lila to be open and thoughtful.”
Adam Wood, founder of Connecticut Cannabis Chamber of Commerce also spoke highly of McKinley who represented the state in the Cannabis Regulators Association. This body is made up of agencies from across the country that supervise the recreational marijuana market.
Ila has an excellent reputation in Connecticut, as well beyond.
Wood noted that the shift in licensing and inspections to a cannabis-specific office comes at a good time, as new grow and dispensary facilities continue to be built.
Wood stated that “a great deal of new cultivation is just starting to take place” and that he was excited about the future.
This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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