Connecticut Bill Would Overhaul Marijuana, Hemp and Infused Beverage Rules

A 173-page bill introduced today in the Connecticut House would rewrite large portions of the state’s marijuana code, raise THC limits for some products and create new licenses tied to infused beverages and cannabis extraction. House Bill 5350, titled An Act Concerning Cannabis, Hemp and Infused Beverage Regulation, was filed in the 2026 session and sent to the Joint Committee on General Law. The 173-page measure touches nearly every part of the legal market, from medical patients and social equity licensees to beverage makers and hemp businesses.

One of the biggest structural changes is how state law defines the plant itself. The bill would swap out the word “marijuana” for “cannabis” throughout the statutes and update the legal definition so it clearly includes high-THC hemp products and certain lab-made THC-type compounds. At the same time, it spells out what is not treated as cannabis: low-THC hemp, approved cannabis-based medications, certain cannabis-infused drinks and industrial-style extracts that meet specific standards.

On the medical side, the bill would open Connecticut’s palliative use program to certain out-of-state patients and clean up rules for transport and dispensing. Producers would no longer be required to have more than one employee on every transport vehicle. Pharmacists at dispensaries and hybrid retailers would still have to record what they dispense, but the bill clarifies how quickly that information must be reported and updates protections for hospice and other medical settings that handle medical cannabis.

For adult-use retailers, HB 5350 would relax some day-to-day requirements while leaving core consumer protections in place. Hybrid retailers would no longer have to keep a pharmacist on site, offer pharmacist consultations or maintain a dedicated consultation room, which supporters say has been costly and hard to staff. The bill also cleans up purchase-limit language, restating that stores cannot knowingly sell more than one ounce of marijuana or the equivalent in other product types to a consumer in a single transaction.

The measure would also create a cannabis regulatory working group and tighten financial rules between businesses. Retailers, hybrid retailers and dispensaries could only borrow money or receive credit from cultivators, micro-cultivators or producers for up to 30 days. If a retailer falls behind, the Department of Consumer Protection could require cultivators and producers to send written delinquency notices, giving the state a clearer picture of who is not paying their bills.

HB 5350 gives the Social Equity Council a stronger role when social equity licenses are sold or transferred. Certain transactions involving licenses originally issued to social equity applicants would need formal review and approval, and both the council and the consumer protection commissioner would be required to submit policy and budget recommendations to lawmakers.

The bill makes a series of privacy and transparency changes. Retailers, hybrids and dispensaries would be barred from keeping personal information collected for age verification for more than 24 hours. Security plans and criminal background information gathered during licensing would be treated as confidential and exempt from public-records requests, while some business-level documents, such as materials tied to significant ownership or operational changes, would clearly be considered public records.

A major chunk of the bill is devoted to cannabis-infused and high-THC beverages. HB 5350 would raise the maximum THC allowed per container for certain beverages and spell out which liquor permit holders can buy, sell or serve them. It would create a new on-premises infused beverage endorsement that allows some bars and restaurants to offer THC drinks under strict conditions. To help fund enforcement and education, the bill would add a new $1 fee on every infused beverage container sold by a dispensary, hybrid retailer or retailer, with the money going to the Department of Consumer Protection for public health, safety and enforcement work.

Another key piece is a new “commercial extractor” license meant to serve as the backbone for legal THC ingredients. The bill would cap these licenses at 10 and limit them to companies that already hold a manufacturer license as of July 1, 2026. When a manufacturer upgrades to a commercial extractor license, it is treated as giving up its old manufacturer license. Commercial extractors would be allowed to sell concentrated THC ingredients only to other licensed businesses—such as cultivators, producers, manufacturers and infused beverage makers—not directly to consumers. They would be barred from also holding a cannabis establishment license or an infused beverage manufacturer license, in an effort to keep the extraction tier separate and tightly controlled.

HB 5350 also performs a broad cleanup of the state’s hemp program. It draws clearer lines between ordinary hemp, higher-THC hemp products that should fall under cannabis rules, and different types of hemp products made by farmers and manufacturers. It updates sampling, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and it makes it explicit that if someone operating under a hemp license is really producing cannabis-level THC, regulators can treat that as a violation and notify law enforcement. The bill also gives the commissioner clearer power to set detailed labeling rules for hemp products.

In the background, the measure updates dozens of cross-references and criminal statutes by swapping “marijuana” for “cannabis” and syncing penalties with the rest of the state’s legalization framework. It reaffirms that patient and caregiver information in the medical program is confidential, while updating language around adults who give or sell cannabis to people under 21.

Taken together, HB 5350 is one of the most wide-ranging marijuana proposals since Connecticut launched legal sales. It would adjust how the state defines cannabis, tighten and modernize the hemp program, reshape rules for infused beverages and extractions, and tweak everything from medical access and social equity to privacy, enforcement funding and day-to-day retail operations.