HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's second-highest court has ruled that the state's decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2011 doesn't apply retroactively and can't be used to erase convictions that predate the law change.
A three-judge panel of the state Appellate Court rejected an appeal by former Manchester and Bolton resident Nicholas Menditto in a decision that became official Tuesday.
Menditto is seeking the erasure of two convictions for marijuana possession in 2009 and charges that were pending in 2011 before the marijuana law was changed. The governor and legislators changed possession of less than four ounces of pot from a misdemeanor with potential jail time to a violation punishable by fines of $150 to $500.
Menditto's lawyer says he plans to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
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