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Vermont Legislature Passes Cannabis Legalisation Bill

posted by Fnord666 on Friday May 12 2017, @02:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the Cheech-and-Chong-would-be-proud dept.

butthurt writes:

The Burlington Free Press, via USA Today, reports that Vermont's legislature has approved a bill to legalise cannabis for recreational use. The bill has not been signed by the state's governor, Republican Phil Scott. According to the article

Vermont's bill, which would legalize small amounts of marijuana possession in 2018 and anticipate the possibility of a taxed and regulated legal marijuana market, was approved in the Vermont House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 79-66. The state Senate already passed the bill, so it will go directly to GOP Gov. Phil Scott.

Eight states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana following a voter referendum, but no state yet has legalized marijuana solely through the legislative process, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Legalization advocates said bills were pending in other state legislatures.

"I think it reflects that Vermont elected officials are more in touch with our constituents than a lot of elected officials in other states," said Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a member of the Vermont Progressive Party who has worked on marijuana issues for the majority of his political career. "I think the public is ahead of us, but elected officials tend to be cautious when it comes to change."

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  • (Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Friday May 12 2017, @01:25PM (1 child)

    by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Friday May 12 2017, @01:25PM (#508599) Journal

    A Republican governor, you say? Seeing as how Republicans and feminists and now in bed, seeing as how Republicans view it as their mission to act against anything and everything that might be rooted in “science” or at least principles of small government, seeing as how cannabis is a date-rape drug according to feminists, this is getting vetoed by noon today.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Friday May 12 2017, @05:07PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Friday May 12 2017, @05:07PM (#508726) Journal

    Well it's past noon in Vermont and the bill is not dead yet. Plenty of Republicans must have voted for the bills (still looking for the breakdown), and the Senate one had a Republican co-sponsor. We're living in a glorious time where Republicans can embrace their newfound love of taxation and ignore their 70+ year old constituents [leafly.com]:

    Montpelier attorney Paul Giuliani, 73, said he felt the legislation was a terrible idea. Laws haven’t been able to keep alcohol out of the hands of underage drinkers, and they won’t work with cannabis users, either, he said. “It just sends the wrong message,” Giuliani said.

    DIAF, Gramps.

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