A bill introduced today in the Connecticut House of Representatives would significantly change how the state taxes marijuana, replacing the current potency-based THC tax with a flat 10.75% excise tax modeled after Massachusetts’ system.
House Bill 5109, filed by State Representative Jason Rojas (D), would amend Chapter 214c of Connecticut’s statutes to eliminate the existing “total THC” tax structure and instead impose a 10.75% excise tax on marijuana sales. The measure has been referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding.
Under current law, Connecticut taxes marijuana products in part based on their total THC content, meaning higher-potency products are subject to higher tax burdens. This system has been criticized by some in the industry for creating pricing distortions, complicating compliance, and steering consumer demand based on tax structure rather than product preference.
HB 5109 would remove that framework entirely and replace it with a straightforward percentage-based excise tax.
The proposal closely mirrors Senate Bill 59, introduced earlier this month by State Senator Jason Perillo (R) and also referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding. That bill similarly would replace the THC-based marijuana tax with a flat excise tax, signaling bipartisan interest in reworking how the state taxes marijuana products.
If approved, the change would represent one of the most notable overhauls to Connecticut’s marijuana tax structure since legalization, shifting away from a potency-based model toward a simpler system used by neighboring states.
