Decriminalization of Marijuana in Vermont - Woot Woot!

[Rald]

A few days ago I sent a nice little doosy of an email to some Big cats out here in VT... here's what I said (some interesting facts) and here's what one had to say!

Dear Senator Baruth,

Have you seen the recent poll conducted by Public Policy Polling in
Vermont? It shows that supporters of decriminalization in our state
outnumber opponents by a more than two to one margin.

The poll also showed that a whopping 74% of Vermonters believe
marijuana is as safe or safer than alcohol. Only 15% said they believe
alcohol is safer than marijuana!

Of course, none of us wish to see marijuana use by teens increase.
Fortunately, H. 427 contains sensible provisions that are designed to
deter teen use. Under the proposal, teens caught with marijuana must
complete a drug awareness program -- this send teens a clear message
that it is not acceptable for them to use marijuana.

Please stand on the side of public opinion and support H. 427, or its
companion bill in the Senate, S. 134. Thank you for your time and
consideration.

Sincerly,

Mr. Gaynon
____________________________________________________________________________________________
and he replied with this!

"Jerald,

I'll be resubmitting the bill Joe Benning and I put forward last session, decriminalizing amounts under one ounce . . . the Governor said at a press conference a week or two ago that he expects to sign it, so we've got that going for us . . .

Best,

Phil Baruth"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[BigHeadTodd]

There is a huge difference between "decriminalizing" and "legalizing". I felt great when Massachusetts voted (ballot referendum) to make having an ounce or less "decriminalized" back in, I believe, 2009. It meant I could walk around with some weed in my pocket and know that I couldn't get arrested for it. After a while I realized that wasn't enough. Sure it was no longer a felony or a misdemeanor but it was still a civil infraction and you could still get fined for it but that is not the same as having "legal" weed. There should be no fine. And unless you are driving erratically, there should be no attention paid to you by the police. Vermont is now headed toward being the first state in the Union to legalize cannabis through the legislature. All other states (and DC) where weed is now legal have legalized via ballot referendum. You go Vermont! I am hopeful that come January 2016 we will have some legislation on the governor's desk for signing! Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.

 

[BigHeadTodd]

Too bad that the VT Legislature bailed out on legalization last year. The Senate had passed a legalization bill and Gov Shumlin had said he's sign it but then the Legislature let all you Vermonters down. It looks like you have a Senate and a Legislature that will pass a legalization bill but now you have a new governor who is opposed... You keep getting two of your ducks in a row but getting that third duck is proving difficult. Of course, Massachusetts which borders Vermont may have just changed the game when the people voted for legalization in November 2016. Suddenly the Cannabis landscape in New England is very, very different than it was just a couple years ago.