(a) On and after July 1, 2021, the department may issue or renew a license for a person to be a retailer. No person may act as a retailer or represent that such person is a retailer unless such person has obtained a license from the department pursuant to this section.

(b) A retailer may obtain cannabis from a cultivator, micro-cultivator, producer, product packager, food and beverage manufacturer, product manufacturer or transporter or an undeliverable return from a delivery service. A retailer may sell, transport or transfer cannabis or cannabis products to a delivery service, laboratory or research program. A retailer may sell cannabis to a consumer or research program. A retailer may not conduct sales of medical marijuana products nor offer discounts or other inducements to qualifying patients or caregivers. A retailer shall not gift or transfer cannabis at no cost to a consumer as part of a commercial transaction.

(c) Retailers shall maintain a secure location, in a manner approved by the commissioner, at the licensee’s premises where cannabis that is unable to be delivered by an employee or delivery service may be returned to the retailer. Such secure cannabis return location shall meet specifications set forth by the commissioner and published on the department’s Internet web site or included in regulations adopted by the department.

(d) A retailer may deliver cannabis through a delivery service or by utilizing its own employees, subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of § 21a-420c.