MJBizMag January 2023 - 37

Connecticut
Rhode Island
to hybrid licenses and launch sales
without even participating in a
lottery process.
CORPORATE CULTIVATION
As far as cultivation goes, observers
generally believe that the existing
medical cultivation licensees owned
by Curaleaf, Green Thumb, Verano
and Greenrose Acquisition Corp., a
special purpose acquisition company
that bought Theraplant in March 2021,
will dominate the state's cannabiscultivation
market.
Pablo Zuanic of New York-based
investment banking firm Cantor
Fitzgerald wrote in an investor note:
" We believe the four existing med
cultivators will grab the lion's share of
the rec wholesale market initially, at
least for the first couple of years. "
New and existing operators will find
both opportunity and necessity in the
wholesale market because operators
CONNECTICUT
SNAPSHOT*
Ballot initiative or legislation: The Connecticut General Assembly
passed S.B. 1201 on June 17, 2021. Gov. Ned Lamont signed it into law
on June 22, 2021.
Regulatory agency: Department of Consumer Protection. The
agency will hold two lotteries: the first for social equity applicants,
the second for non-social equity applicants. Licenses will not be
awarded to any lottery applicant who has two or more licenses of the
same type through June 30, 2025.
Business license types and fees:
Lottery
Cultivator
Micro-cultivator
Retailer
Product Manufacturer
Food & Beverage
Delivery/Transport
Product Packager
Hybrid
Fees: Non-Social Equity / Social Equity
Provisional
$1,000 / $500
$250 / $125
$500 / $250
$750 / $375
$250 / $125
$250 / $125
$500 / $250
$500 / $250
$25,000 / $12,500
$500 / $250
$5,000 / $2,500
$5,000 / $2,500
$1,000 / $500
$1,000 / $500
$5,000 / $2,500
$5,000 / $2,500
License
$ 75,000 / $37,500
$1,000 / $500
$25,000 / $12,500
$25,000 / $12,500
$5,000 / $2,500
$5,000 / $2,500
$25,000 / $12,500
$25,000 / $12,500
License caps: Four micro-cultivator licenses, 12 retailer licenses,
six product-manufacturer licenses, 10 food and beverage licenses,
10 delivery licenses, four transport licenses, six product packager
licenses and four hybrid licenses. Half of all licenses in each category
are reserved for social equity applicants.
State tax requirements: 2.9% sales tax, 15% retail tax, 15% excise tax.
Out-of-state applicants: Yes.
Product types allowed: Flower, pre-rolls, vape cartridges,
concentrates and edibles. No capsules, pills, tablets, sublinguals or
suppositories. Edibles are limited to cube and sphere shapes and
must be stamped with " THC. "
Anticipated sales launch: Originally due to launch in 2022, regulated
adult-use marijuana sales will now begin Jan. 10.
2022 population and patient numbers: As of Nov. 6, 2022, there
were 50,188 registered medical marijuana patients, accounting for
about 1.4% of the state's population of 3.6 million.
Predicted size of market: $300 million-$375 million in the first year
and $650 million-$800 million in the fourth year.
Local control and opt-in/opt-out rules: Any municipality may hold a
referendum to prohibit cannabis businesses.
Social equity provisions: Half of all licenses will go to social equity
applicants.
* Data is from the 2022 MJBiz Factbook, MJBizDaily, MJBizMagazine, unless
otherwise noted.
Alabama
aren't allowed to own more than two
storefronts.
Another potential opportunity is
in creating a manufactured product
brand using wholesale cannabis
biomass.
BEST REAL ESTATE
Retailers should also do well in
Connecticut, a state that perennially
boasts some of the nation's highest
median household incomes.
Observers say many entrepreneurs
are interested in the densely populated
and often wealthy Connecticut suburbs
outside of New York City as well as
towns along trainlines, the state capital
of Hartford and the New Haven area,
which is home to about 20 colleges,
including Yale.
Businesses interested in Connecticut's
adult-use marijuana market should
check with local governments to see if
they will allow rec sales.
Mississippi
Residents of 35 Connecticut cities
and towns will receive priority for
recreational marijuana business
licenses as part of the state's social
equity program, officials announced.
According to the Hartford Courant
newspaper, more than 200 of the
state's 833 census tracts fall under
the definition of disproportionately
impacted by drug prohibition,
based on drug conviction and
unemployment rates.
INVESTING YOUR WAY IN
With such limited license
opportunities, the best way for
out-of-state entities to get into the
Connecticut market would be as
investors, Wagener said.
" People who want licenses and aren't
well funded ... might be looking for
investment. But other than getting
lucky in the lottery, you're not going to
get a license, " Wagener said.
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