Is THCA legal in Connecticut? Connecticut hemp, CBD and kratom laws

The law in Connecticut

Connecticut sorts hemp products by how much total THC they hold, and the Department of Consumer Protection, not the Department of Agriculture, runs the consumer side. Growers are licensed by the Commissioner of Agriculture under section 22-61l, but section 22-61m says no one may manufacture hemp products in the state without a license from the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. A manufacturer hemp product is anything made from hemp for people to eat, drink, inhale or absorb, other than an infused beverage.

Three tiers follow from that. Under section 21a-240(63), a manufacturer hemp product with more than 1 mg of total THC a serving with up to 5 mg a container, or more than 0.3 percent total THC for flower or trim, is a high-THC hemp product, and the cannabis definition in the same section counts every high-THC hemp product as cannabis. A product with 0.5 to 5 mg a container is a moderate-THC hemp product under section 21a-426. Below that sit ordinary manufacturer hemp products, such as most CBD oils and topicals.

1. May 9, 2019Public Act 19-3 takes effect, setting up Connecticut's hemp program.
2. July 1, 2023Public Act 23-79 adds the high-THC hemp product definition, moving those products under cannabis law.
3. October 1, 2024The high-THC line becomes 1 mg total THC a serving with up to 5 mg a container.
4. January 1, 2025Sellers of moderate-THC hemp products need a DCP certificate of registration.
5. October 1, 2025Public Act 25-101's hemp flower rules begin: age 21, ID checks and counter or locked storage.
6. April 2, 2026The regulation listing kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine in Schedule I receives final approval.
7. December 11, 2026The federal limit of 0.4 mg total THC per container begins.

THCA, delta-8 and hemp flower

Section 21a-240 defines total THC as 87.7 percent of the THCA plus the THC, and defines THC to include delta-7, delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10 regardless of source. THCA and delta-8 both count toward every line, and section 22-61m bars any synthetic cannabinoid, a term the statute says includes HHC, from a manufacturer hemp product offered for sale in Connecticut or to a consumer here.

Public Act 25-101 added rules for hemp flower, meaning the flower of hemp and not its leaves or stem. Flower above 0.3 percent total THC is a high-THC hemp product. Flower at or under that line may be sold by a cannabis establishment or registered vendor to adults 21 and older, and section 22-61o lets anyone else sell it only in person from behind a counter or a locked case with staff help, or by delivery, website or mail order, checking a government ID at purchase and again on delivery.

Public Act 26-8 renames marijuana as cannabis throughout the statutes from October 1, 2026. Public Act 26-100 rewrote the cannabis definition again for the same date: it keeps every high-THC hemp product and manufactured cannabinoid inside it, and leaves out only hemp with no more than 0.3 percent total THC that is not a high-THC hemp product.

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Age, licenses and labels

Since January 1, 2025, only a cannabis establishment or a moderate-THC hemp product vendor registered with the Department of Consumer Protection may sell moderate-THC hemp products at retail. The certificate costs $2,000 a year, or $1,000 for an active manufacturer, is tied to one retail location, and generally requires at least 85 percent of that location's monthly revenue to come from moderate-THC products and hemp flower. Sales to anyone under 21 are barred, and each container carries a symbol saying the product is not legal or safe for anyone under 21. Packages of ingestible products may hold no more than two containers. Civil penalties run up to $5,000 a violation.

High-THC hemp products follow the adult-use and medical cannabis rules: licensed laboratories, licensed cannabis establishments and buyers 21 and older or registered patients.

Labels on food, drinks and other ingestible manufacturer hemp products must carry a scannable code or link to an independent laboratory's certificate of analysis showing total THC, an expiration date where one applies, and notices about pregnancy, keeping the product away from children and FDA review. A product meant to be inhaled must warn that smoking or vaping is hazardous. Health claims are barred on manufacturer hemp products, moderate-THC products and hemp flower, and a violation is an unfair trade practice.

CBD in food and drinks

Section 22-61m says cannabidiol derived from hemp in a manufacturer hemp product is not a controlled substance or an adulterant. Since July 1, 2025, a manufacturer hemp product that is a food, drink, oil or anything else to be swallowed must come from hemp grown by a USDA-licensed producer under an approved state or tribal plan.

THC drinks are a separate category, the infused beverage, made by a manufacturer licensed by the Department of Consumer Protection and sold only to adults 21 and older. Public Act 26-8 raised the limit from 3 mg of total THC a container to 5 mg at package stores and 10 mg at dispensaries, hybrid retailers and retailers from October 1, 2026, and let a package hold up to 12 containers of at least 12 ounces.

Kratom, kava, amanita and spores

Public Act 25-101, effective June 24, 2025, added subsection (i)(2) to section 21a-243, directing the Commissioner of Consumer Protection to list 7-hydroxymitragynine and kratom, including its leaves, stem and any extracts, as controlled substances. The department says Regulation 2025-018 placed both in Schedule I, was approved by the Legislative Regulation Review Committee on February 24, 2026 and received final approval on April 2, 2026, and it told stores to pull those products.

We found no Connecticut statute naming kava, amanita muscaria or mushroom spores.

The federal change on December 11

From December 11, 2026, the federal definition counts total THC including THCA and limits a finished hemp-derived cannabinoid product to 0.4 mg per container. Read the federal page and What's changing on December 11.