In special session Wednesday, the Connecticut House passed a contentious bill legalizing marijuana for recreational use-- in a form that's acceptable to Gov. Ned Lamont. The vote was 76-62.
House Democratic leaders had to scramble to remove language passed Tuesday in the Senate. The governor had targeted that version with a veto threat.
"We talked it over amongst ourselves," says House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford). "We talked it over with the proponents of that amendment. We talked it over with the Senate, and agreed to go back to the original plan that we had, which was the deal that we had struck with the governor."
The previous Senate version, opposed by the governor, intended to include those with prior marijuana convictions in the competition for valuable pot sales licenses. The governor felt those candidates would fall short of his social equity goals.
The State Senate will meet in special session on Thursday starting at 9:30 am. It will be voting to send the marijuana bill to the governor's desk.
