Connecticut state Senate approves recreational marijuana bill in a 19-17 vote. House expected to take up bill before adjournment.

After five years of discussion, the state Senate made history early Tuesday by narrowly approving a bill that would regulate and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older.

House Speaker Matt Ritter said he expects the House of Representatives to take up the measure before the legislature adjourns at midnight on Wednesday. “We do expect it to pass,’' Ritter said.

The bill was approved just before 2 a.m. by a vote of 19 to 17. Six Democrats—Sens. Saud Anwar of South Windsor, Christine Cohen of Guilford, Steve Cassano of Manchester, Joan Hartley of Waterbury, Alex Kasser of Greenwich and Dennis Bradley of Bridgeport—joined almost all the Republicans in rejecting the measure. Republican Kevin Witkos, a retired police officer from Canton, voted yes.

The Senate vote marks the first time either chamber of the Connecticut legislature has taken up the legalization of cannabis and the significance of the moment was not lost on Sen. Gary Winfield, one of the measure’s champions.

“This session has been a session where we’ve been talking about equity, talking about dealing with the policies of the past and making them right,’' said Winfield, a Democrat from New Haven. “To my mind, if cannabis was made illegal not because there was a real reason...but to deal with the Mexicans in the early 1900s or the hippies and the Blacks in the 1970s, that is not good public policy. And we have seen what has been wrought by having a war on drugs. Whole communities have been decimated.”

The legislation is “88 years overdue,’' Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney said. “The problem with prohibition, whether it be alcohol, tobacco or marijuana in this case, is that it tries to impose by law something that is against the inherent feelings of a large segment of society.”

“I know this is not an easy issue,’' said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, a supporter of the bill. “Legislation is always very complicated and this is a prime example of that.”

Duff noted that marijuana use is already pervasive in Connecticut. “The product is here,” he said. “What is happening now with this market is not working.”

Connecticut decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana more than a decade ago. In 2012, the state established a medical marijuana program.

Gov. Ned Lamont applauded the Senate’s action in a statement Tuesday morning.

“The war on cannabis, which was at its core a war on people in Black and Brown communities, not only caused injustices and increased disparities in our state, it did little to protect public health and safety,” Lamont said. “That’s why I introduced a bill and worked hard with our partners in the legislature to create a comprehensive framework for a securely regulated market that prioritizes public health, public safety, social justice, and equity. It will help eliminate the dangerous, unregulated market and support a new growing sector of our economy, which will lead to jobs and growth.’'

Sen. John Kissel, a Republican from Enfield, was a strong supporter of the state’s medical marijuana law, but he spoke out against allowing the possession and sale of recreational marijuana.

The bill being debated Monday is “probably the last step toward complete legalization,’' Kissel said. “I totally oppose this, I think it sends a horrible message to our young people.”

Republicans filed at least a dozen amendments on the bill, which would, among other provisions, ban edibles that resemble candy, place limits on marijuana-related advertising and require marijuana products to contain an advisory that they contain potentially harmful health effects. None of the amendments were approved.

“The science is clear: marijuana is harmful to one’s health,’' Sen. Henri Martin, a Republican from Bristol said. “What message are we sending by not listening to science?”

Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, said legalizing marijuana won’t undo the injustices of the past. “All this bill does is legitimize and validate the use of an addictive drug,’' she said. “The word legal translates to many as safe... but today’s marijuana is anything but safe.”

Sen. Paul Formica recalled his own experience as an addict who began drinking at age 13 and later became hooked on marijuana. “It’s time we find ways not to medicate but to empower,’' said Formica, a Republican from East Lyme who quit using drugs at 28. “I’m fortunate that, as I come up on my 40th year as being clean....my children have never seen that person.”

Not all of the bill’s opponents are Republicans. “I have concerns over the potency of these products,’' Christine Cohen said.

Cohen spoke frankly about the pattern of alcoholism in her family. “I know all to well the impacts of drug and alcohol abuse,’' she said, explaining that she is worried about the genetic predisposition to addiction and how it could impact her own three children.

Bradley, a Democrat from Bridgeport, said legal marijuana should not be viewed as a panacea for remedying structural racism and inequities in criminal justice.

“I don’t believe that the sale of marijuana is going to be the fix,’' said Bradley, an attorney who missed several votes Monday and is facing charges related to a conspiracy to cheat the state’s public campaign financing system out of about $180,000.

Addressing the education achievement gap and improving home ownership and investment opportunities will do far more to address inequities, he said. “That’s how we fix America, it’s not going to be weed,’' Bradley said.

Winfield and other key lawmakers have been working on a sweeping measure that would legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use for weeks. Over the weekend, they reached a compromise with Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont on the bill, which clocked in at about 300 pages.

Ensuring that Connecticut provides additional business opportunities for people from communities disproportionately hurt by harsh federal drug policies was a priority, Winfield said.

Under the bill, social equity applicants would have early access to obtain licenses to become retailers, cultivators, micro-cultivators and other positions that would be created in the newly legal marijuana industry.

Those eligible will include residents of a “disproportionately impacted area,” which is defined under the bill as a U.S. census tract in Connecticut with an unemployment rate above 10% or a high “historical conviction rate for drug-related offenses.” The applicant must have lived in the census tract for at least nine years before they turned 18 or five of the previous 10 years, according to a bill summary.

The social equity applications will be reviewed by a special, 15-member council that will have the funding and power to set the rules that the applicants must follow.

Courant Capitol Bureau Chief Christopher Keating contributed to this report.