Residents in parts of Groton, New London and Norwich will be high on the list of people who could be awarded recreational marijuana business licenses, a state body announced Thursday.

The Social Equity Council, a 15-person group of state officials and social justice and civil rights professionals formed by the new recreational cannabis law meant to “oversee the verification of equity applicants, create new programs to support cannabis businesses and businesses in other industries, and manage the more general community investments derived from the cannabis tax revenue,” according to the state’s recreational cannabis webpage, held its first meeting on Thursday.

Half of all cannabis business licenses must go to social equity applicants, which are defined as people living in "communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition," per the new law. These are areas that historically have high conviction rates for drug-related offenses or a high unemployment rate, and annually will be determined by the council. These applicants are in line for startup funding, lower fees and other assistance.

The most significant action taken at Thursday’s meeting by the council was determining which areas meet those definitions. Census tracts in 35 towns and cities were designated, including Bridgeport, Derby, East Haven, Hartford, Middletown, New Haven, Norwalk, Shelton and Windham, among others. 

Local areas included

According to a map of the disproportionately impacted areas, qualifying state census tracts have either an unemployment rate higher than 10% or a drug-related conviction rate greater than 10%.

The highest conviction rate in a Norwich census tract is at the center of the city, at more than 27%. Other parts of the city also are deemed disproportionately impacted, including Greeneville, Thamesville and in the area of Laurel Hill.

Most of New London, except for the Ocean Avenue area, qualifies as disproportionately impacted. In the city’s centermost census tract, the conviction rate for drug-related offenses exceeds 50%. One census tract encompassing parts of Ocean Avenue, Willetts Avenue and Montauk Avenue has a more than 14% unemployment rate.

A small section of Groton — from Thames Street to Thomas Road — also qualifies.

Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said Friday that Norwich department heads, including himself, the chief of police, the human services director, the Uncas Health District director and the city manager, have met in recent weeks to discuss the legalization of recreational marijuana. He said he and other city leaders are not opposed to cannabis retailers in the city.

“Some towns have passed moratoriums on anything in their community. We decided that was somewhat unnecessary because licenses aren’t going to be granted for a full year anyway,” he said. “Passing a moratorium is kind of an empty gesture in our eyes. We’re not doing that. We still have a lot to learn about this.”

Nystrom noted that he lobbied for a medical marijuana dispensary in Norwich, but “it ended up going to Montville,” referring to the former Thames River Valley medical dispensary, now renamed The Botanist.

New London Mayor Michael Passero said that designating almost all of New London as a social equity applicant area represents “an economic opportunity for the residents and the city.”

“I could foresee us developing an outreach program similar to the other outreach programs that we engage in to our economic development office,” he said. “We try to get the word out on any opportunity that would generate business for our residents. There could be great small business opportunities.”

Passero said he’d welcome cannabis business in the city.

“I think our zoning board is simply going to update its regulations and determine where in the city these type of businesses will be appropriate,” he said. “They will be allowed. I’d imagine they’ll follow the same pattern as any other type of bar or liquor store.”

Gov. Ned Lamont spoke during the Social Equity Council's meeting Thursday. He said the social equity portion of the new law is intended to help people start a business who "don't always have the capital you need to get things started."

He said the council is "going to make sure that the revenues from the legalization of cannabis go to those communities hardest hit, and if you care deeply about economic development in our most distressed communities as I do, as we all do, that's all about education, that's all about child care, and it's about jobs."

s.spinella@theday.com