While cannabis legalization is often cited as one of the fastest moving policy changes in American politics, one state has been taking the slow and steady approach for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n
Vermont notched its most recent victory in January<\/a>, becoming the first state to legalize cannabis for adult use through the legislature. Eight other states and Washington, D.C. have only done so through voter referendum.<\/p>\n In 1981, Vermont started its decades-long counterattack on the War on Drugs by establishing its Cannabis Therapeutic Research Program, which studied marijuana\u2019s therapeutic effects on cancer and other severe illnesses. Then, in 2004, Vermont became the second state (following Hawaii in 2000) to legalize medical cannabis through the legislature. Decriminalization followed in 2013, and shortly after, the state commissioned the RAND Corporation to study full legalization in the state.<\/p>\n \u201cVermont has been way ahead of the curve,\u201d says Matt Simon, the Marijuana Policy Project\u2019s director for the New England region.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a surprise to me that they were first to legalize through the legislature,\u201d Simon says.<\/p>\n As policy discussions took shape during last year\u2019s legislative session, it became clear that there were two major political hurdles to overcome: Vermont\u2019s House of Representatives and Republican Governor, Phil Scott.<\/p>\n \u201cThe House had a lot of hesitations<\/a> about this policy change,\u201d says Rep. Maxine Grad, a Democrat representing the area east of Montpelier, Vermont.<\/p>\n While the state\u2019s Senate passed a comprehensive cannabis legalization bill that would have established a taxed and regulated marketplace, the House was only willing to go as far as legalizing possession, use and cultivation.<\/p>\n The final stumbling block was the governor. While his predecessor, Peter Shumlin, supported comprehensive legalization<\/a>, Scott had serious reservations. He vetoed a bill<\/a> very similar to the one that eventually passed last summer, and said he had \u201cmixed feelings\u201d as he signed legalization into law in January.<\/p>\n Under the new law, Vermont has no legal framework for buying and selling cannabis, but possession and use are legal. The state\u2019s cannabis advocates are now turning their attention to setting up a legal market, which Scott is not in any rush to do. In fact, some believe he is deliberately slowing that process down<\/p>\n While Vermont has already studied legalization \u2014 first through the RAND study and then a state commission established last fall, Scott also created a commission to study highway safety public health and a regulatory system back in September 2017.<\/p>\n Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman questions the need for further study<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe passed a bill to study how to implement a tax and regulate model,\u201d Zuckerman explains. \u201c[Gov. Scott\u2019s] model was about discovery when we already know these things. His bill pushes things out for two years. It\u2019s a delay tactic. We already produced a tax and regulate model. Vermont has already been investigating this topic for five years. We have ample evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n While further legislative progress isn\u2019t expected this year, there is hope that Scott will eventually be convinced to sign a tax and regulate bill, something he has said he won\u2019t do until he has solid answers on certain issues, particularly highway safety.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m inclined to take him at his word when he says philosophically he believes people should make this choice [to use cannabis] for themselves,\u201d says Simon.<\/p>\n \u201cHe ran with support from police chiefs who were not happy at all about legalization, so I give him a lot of credit for doing the right thing or at least one step of the right thing,\u201d says Simon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n According to both Simon and Zuckerman, some opponents to legalization have already come around. Vermont politicians, it seems, are willing to take an honest look at the data, and listen to one another.<\/p>\n \u201cRelationships matter,\u201d says Zuckerman. \u201cPeople like myself continue to challenge prohibition by saying, \u2018So how is this different from alcohol?\u2019 Prohibition failed. We have a thriving microbrew industry that we market and are very proud of. Yet we talk about cannabis like it\u2019s worse, when it\u2019s not. That comes from decades of racial and economic injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, economics may be what nudges the Green Mountain State into adopting a cannabis marketplace. Neighboring Massachusetts<\/a> is setting up its regulatory framework after voters said yes to legalization in 2016, and nearby Maine is doing the same (despite some foot-dragging from its governor). When cannabis shops are just a drive away, Vermont may see little harm in shortening that trip and collecting taxes on money Vermonters are spending anyway. With those three states in various stages of legalization, and the New Hampshire legislature taking steps in that direction, cannabis legalization has arrived in New England.<\/p>\n Originally published in Issue 31 of Cannabis Now.\u00a0<\/em>LEARN MORE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, does your state have legal marijuana?<\/p>\n The post How Vermont Became the First State to Legalize Cannabis Through the Legislature<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
While cannabis legalization is often cited as one of the fastest moving policy changes in American politics, one state has been taking the slow and steady approach for nearly two decades. Vermont notched its most recent victory in January, becoming the first state to legalize cannabis for adult use throughContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,85,4622,901,81,27,4644,1529],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27047"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27048,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047\/revisions\/27048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: How Vermont Became the First State to Legalize Cannabis Through the Legislature<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"