The practice of exchanging cannabis or cannabis-related products for donations or other purchases — known as “gifting” — could now carry a heavy price tag Connecticut.
Under legislation signed last week by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, towns can fine residents up to $1,000 for gifting a cannabis plant or related products.
The state also has the authority to issue $1,000 fines for not paying state sales taxes on the exchanges.
New York regulators have issued warnings to more than two dozen businesses that they allege are either illegally selling marijuana without a license or exploiting a “gifting” provision of the state’s cannabis law.
After former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an adult-use legalization bill into law last year, adults 21 and older were immediately permitted to possess and publicly consume cannabis, as well as gift marijuana to other adults as long as they weren’t being compensated.
Vermont’s top law enforcement official moved to crack down on an emerging practice of “gifting” adult-use marijuana, saying the practice is illegal.
Some Vermont businesses have taken advantage of what they think is a loophole in the state’s new recreational law to deliver “free” marijuana.
Business owners told the Burlington Free Press they make their money through delivery fees ranging from $40 for an eighth of an ounce to $280 for a full ounce.