Connecticut could collect nearly $1 billion in taxes over five years if the state were to legalize recreational marijuana, according to a new University of Connecticut report.

A study by UConn’s Center for Economic Analysis estimated that in five years of recreational sales Connecticut could collect anywhere from $784 million to $952 million in new taxes, according to the Hartford Courant.

Until recently, the term “telehealth” was known in the medical community, but not the cannabis community.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak sent the country into lockdown, medical marijuana users in many states can now check in with a health care provider by video for authorization, rather than an in-person meeting.

According to MPP.org, 31 states currently allow telemedicine for cannabis patients – 11 of which have temporarily altered their laws as a result of the current coronavirus pandemic.

Faith leaders from across Connecticut converged on the state capitol recently to show their support for legalization efforts this year. The move comes on the heels of Connecticut’s legislative session starting last week. Also prompting the Feb. 18 press conference, Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz are both filing cannabis legalization bills backed by Governor Ned Lamont during the new session. 

Although a measure to legalize marijuana last year failed to gain enough traction to become law, Governor Ned Lamont is vowing to continue the fight.

In his state of the state address this week Governor Lamont said that ending marijuana prohibition represents “an opportunity to right the wrongs of a war on drugs that has disproportionately impacted our minority communities.” The governor said that he intends to work with “neighboring states as we consider regulating marijuana for adult use.”

A proposal to legalize marijuana in Connecticut went up in smoke last year, but legislative advocates—including the state’s governor—are ready to give it another go.

In his state of the state address Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont said that ending the prohibition on pot represents “an opportunity to right the wrongs of a war on drugs that has disproportionately impacted our minority communities.” 

The legal marijuana industry is budding before our eyes. What had once been considered a taboo industry that was swept under the rug by lawmakers has now become a front-and-center issue, as well as a big-time moneymaker for investors and companies involves in the pot industry.

Faced with a dilemma that has caused major headaches in most states which have adopted legal forms of marijuana, Connecticut growers and dispensaries have developed a work-around for a problem any business would love to have:

What to do with the piles and piles of cash that have been accumulating?

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF), a leading vertically integrated cannabis operator in the United States, announced it is sponsoring pioneering industrial hemp research being conducted by the University of Connecticut. The goal of the research is to help improve industrial hemp production levels and advance current cultivation processes. Findings have the potential to impact production in the medical cannabis industry.

The production of industrial hemp is now legal in Connecticut – after a considerable push from farmers. Governor Ned Lamont signed the measure into law Thursday.

The bill passed with unanimous support in both chambers of the General Assembly.

Proponents say it will create new opportunities for farmers and that hemp has thousands of uses, including medicinal.