New Haven State Rep. Juan Candelaria helped make recreational cannabis legal in Connecticut. In the legislative session that just ended, he voted on multiple bills that tried to overhaul how the industry works, all while navigating the ethical challenges of being a public official who works for a c anna-business. Candelaria represents the 95th General Assembly District, which covers parts of Fair Haven and the Hill. After years of advocacy, in 2021, he co-sponsored a bill that legalized adult-use recreational cannabis in Connecticut. Four years later, he took a job with a micro-cultivator in Hartford. During his first legislative session as an employee of a cannabis business, he voted to overhaul how Connecticut taxes the industry, after first confirming with an attorney that doing so was allowed under state ethics rules. On June 12, a widely-read Reddit post drew attention to Candelaria’s position as director of operations and sales at The Goods THC Co., a cannabis cultivation company in Hartford. The post accused Candelaria of failing to disclose his relationship with the company, arguing that he should have recused himself from the cannabis-related votes. However, Candelaria had disclosed his position. His 2025 Statement of Financial Interests, filed with the Office of State Ethics, lists “The Goods” under income sources, with the type of income recorded as “sales.” The state’s online license database shows that Candelaria has been a “key cannabis employee” at The Goods THC Co. since September 2025. Connecticut defines key cannabis employees as people with management positions. In an interview with the Independent, Candelaria said he earns a flat salary from his job. His main responsibility is speaking with retail stores about his company’s products. “I’ve been working on cannabis for a long time. Everyone in the chamber has their specialty, and this one fell on my lap,” he told the Independent. “Going from a policy point of view to working” at a cannabis company is helping “me really understand the industry and see how the whole process works.” The Reddit post’s author, Louis Rinaldi, told the Independent that he agrees with Candelaria’s position of combatting corporate control of the cannabis industry, including by reforming the state’s social equity program — a licensing process designed to support grassroots entrepreneurs from communities harmed by the War on Drugs. Still, he argued, Candelaria should have recused himself from the cannabis-related votes. Candelaria disagreed. “Just like a teacher that is a legislator and votes on the state budget, is there a conflict of interest?” he asked. “If it would have been something that directly impacts only my employer, then of course I would see that as a conflict of interest. But for the whole industry, it’s not a conflict.” He told the Independent that he consulted with the House Democrats’ staff attorney before voting on two cannabis-related bills this year: one to overhaul the tax system and another to redefine key terms. (The first passed; the second failed.) When Candelaria took a position with The Goods THC Co., he resigned from the legislature’s General Law Committee, which annually reviews rules related to the cannabis industry. He did so to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, he told the Independent. The committee’s co-chair, New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar, said he has no concerns about Candelaria’s decision to vote on two cannabis-related bills this year. “For the better part of the decade, Juan has been one of the leading voices on the state supporting legalization,” he told the Independent. “That far predated any of his time as an employee.” The entire legislature is built on the experiences representatives gather from their different professions, Lemar pointed out. “I think it’s appropriate for anyone to vote on issues, even if they happen to work on the industry. Otherwise, you miss out on the key experiences that legislators have.” For example, he said, people in the banking industry can better navigate complicated nuances in banking regulations. Attorneys can bring their legal knowledge to the House Judiciary Committee. “The test is whether you’re voting on anything that enriches yourself, your colleagues, or your business,” none of which was true for Candelaria, he said. The state assembly would “grind to a halt” if legislators recused themselves from all bills related to their professions, said Peter Lewandowski, the executive director for the Office of State Ethics. Because the Connecticut General Assembly is part-time, most legislators have jobs outside of their political positions. For practical purposes, the statute enables legislators to vote on bills that impact entire industries, so long as their businesses are not given special treatment, Lewandowski explained. It also allows them to vote on large omnibus bills with line items specific to their businesses. At the moment, legislators are legally allowed to vote on bills that disproportionately benefit their employers, as long as they are not owners of the business. The Office of State Ethics is working to eliminate that exception. The Senate passed a bill to expand what constitutes a conflict of interest to include actions that result in direct monetary gain or loss to an official’s non-state employer. The bill has not passed the House. Rinaldi, an activist in the cannabis industry and the author of the original Reddit post about Candelaria, told the Independent that he has no personal or professional relationship with Candelaria. He made the post only because he sees “a lot of corruption in plain sight” in the cannabis industry. All elected representatives are “expected to recuse themselves on matters that would have a direct, material impact on their financial gain,” he told the Independent. Candelaria “should have recused himself from those votes.” He disagreed with the comparison between cannabis-related employment and other professions. Law and teaching are “open professions,” he explained. “Anyone can go to school and become a teacher or an attorney.” In Connecticut, however, “the state gets to decide” who sells cannabis. “If [Candelaria] was getting a flat salary, then it would just be an appearance of a conflict than a statutorily verifiable conflict,” he acknowledged. It “would not be as big of a deal” for Candelaria to have made those votes. (Candelaria receives a flat salary, not a commission on sales.) “Is this the biggest problem in the state’s cannabis industry? No,” said Rinaldi. “I agree that [Candelaria] fights for people underrepresented in the industry.” Overall, Rinaldi said he is far more concerned about the state’s licensing process for the cannabis industry. “The state has chosen winners and losers for the industry instead of letting the market decide.” As a result, he said, the people with the authority to sell cannabis are disproportionately wealthy and well-connected. That same problem exists in nearly every industry, stressed Lemar. The legislature attempted to expand opportunity in the cannabis industry through a social equity licensing process, which gives cannabis licenses to people who were disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs. The social equity program has been far from perfect. For one thing, because many licensees lack the capital to launch their own businesses, they often partner with large, multi-state backers, said Candelaria. Through that process, some have signed over control of their companies, defeating the purpose of the social equity program. “People need to know that these large corporations are taking advantage of these social equity applicants,” said Candelaria. He said he suspects that he is being criticized because his name is “at the forefront” of efforts to protect social equity applicants. (Rinaldi called that argument “disingenuous,” saying that he agrees with Candelaria’s position of taking on large cannabis companies.) Public Act 26-8, passed in May, attempts to address that problem by banning a social equity applicant from transferring ownership of their cannabis business to a different entity. Applicants are still allowed to engage third-party consultants for advice and support, but they must retain “final decision-making authority.” The provision goes into effect in November. “At the end of the day, I’m always going to protect social equity applicants,” Candelaria told the Independent. When it comes to these public attacks, he said, “I am the sacrificial lamb.” The post State Rep Walks Cannabis Tightrope appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less