House and Senate lawmakers have approved legislation, Senate Bill 22, to eliminate criminal and civil penalties specific to the adult use and possession of marijuana.
The measure amends state law so that the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and/or the cultivation of up to two mature plants (and up to four immature plants) is no longer subject to penalty. It also establishes a nine member commission to make recommendations to the legislature regarding how best to regulate the adult use marijuana market.
If enacted into law, the penalty changes would go into effect on July 1, 2018.
Senate Bill 22 now awaits action from Gov. Phil Scott, who has previously expressed support for decriminalizing marijuana but has also said that “the timing’s not right” for legalization. In February, his office came out strongly in opposition to a more expansive Senate proposal that sought to license and regulate the commercial cultivation and retail sale of cannabis to adults.
Vermont’s legislature is the first ever to approve legislation eliminating criminal and civil penalties for adults who possess or grow marijuana for non-medical purposes.
If you reside in Vermont, you can contact the Governor in support of S. 22 by clicking here.
I sure hope these New England states get their adult recreational programs open to the public soon. I’ll definitely take short vacations there frequently, and expect to bring personal amounts back without getting hassled by law enforcement.
It’s too bad Pennsylvania hasn’t legalized. I keep seeing these bozo politicians on PCN call-in shows about the state’s budget talking about privatizing the state store system and merging state agencies and expanding gambling. Republicans are in control of the legislature, the Auditor General has called for Pennsylvania to legalize adult recreational. Just because he’s a Democrat doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Turzai and Wagner and these other prohibitionist Republicans are all for increasing the availability of alcohol and gambling, indicating the money outweighs the fact that some people become addicted to alcohol, some people become addicted to gambling, and some people become addicted to both.
right, just like they want to take mental health treatment out of health care plans but want to make guns available to people with serious mental illnesses. Just like they talk about states making their own decisions and getting government out of people’s personal lives but want to treat us like grade schoolers when it comes to marijuana but let’s promote alcohol and gambling. F’n self-serving hypocrites.
Marijuana is ubiquitous already. Anybody who wants to buy marijuana in Pennsylvania either has to know somebody or has only to ask around to find the know areas to go buy it like some drive-through alley downtown. You take a chance of getting ripped off by some stranger but it’s everywhere. They know if they rip you off they’re not getting repeat business.
What really pisses me the eff off is the when it comes to legalizing adult recreational in Pennsylvania that these politicians (mostly Republican) need to change so that the money outweighs the fact that some people get addicted, psychologically or whatever, to cannabis. It’s not nearly as bad as alcohol addiction or opioid addiction, and why smoke cigarettes–if you’re going to smoke inhale less smoke with cannabis only or better yet vaporize the bud.
Pennsylvania, you are so stupid not to legalize. We need all the money the state can get, and a steady stream of it from cannabis.
http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/05/10/colorado-marijuana-sales-statistics-march-2017/79215/
YES!!! YEEEEEES!!! That’s TWO big wild cards for ya Drumph ?!+€#£$! Now annie up! Cuz were callin Sessions’ bluff!
Vermont is betting the same hand as Texas on our Decrim bill; that our governors wont sign but let the bills ride.
But theres sonething special in that we already have legislatively enacted legalization on record. In Texas, thats important of course because this hasnt happened since 1973… so even though our mmj bill was shot down in Calendars committee more than half the House cosponsored the bill, which fares well for tomorrows vote on decrim.
But Vermont… oh beautiful Vermont with your subsidized maple syrup and cranky old Jews like Bernie Sanders… weve never had a state legislature agree on full legalization of marijuana before… all the legalized states did so on voter initiative. This is a BIG game changer for Federal courts where Federal judges (and Federal grants) have yet to be reappointed by the hostile Drumph administration… because Federal judges look to legislatively enacted laws to guide many of their final decisions.
Dont get me wrong… Drumph’s prohibitionist cabinet still has a card to play if Sessions takes state legalization to Federal court through the Supremacy Clause by filing an injunction. But Sessions has already been called on his bluff. Honestly, I think he was waiting on the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer (sp?) amendment to expire, but it got can-kicked into September for NORML lobby day. (I’ll be in DC in July hunting Lamar Smith down… so you say you support veterans, do ya Smithy?).
This is really exiting news. We couldnt get more sweat outta these governors if we stuckm in a Sonna with Mike Pence and called their wives. (Eww… bad visual…)
Good work Vermont!!!
This is such great news! It proves that MJ legalization can be advanced without citizens’ initiatives, which means of course that there’s hope for those of us who live in states that don’t have citizens’ initiatives.
Just one more thing to cause the Demon, Anslinger, to spin in his grave.
Normally, I would be pleased, and my hats off to the legislature for something that should have been done last year. I waited quite some time to turn on the news online to see if they passed it. Well, to my surprise, they did. I hate pessimism….but I am very irritated right now because I know that governor is just going to veto it. If this is true, it is just beyond disgusting at this point. If this happens, I am done with Vermont. Let them figure out there own mess. Another victory for prohibitionists and those living in fear and uncertainty. Done with Vermont. Done.
*their own mess