April McCullum

Free Press Staff Writer

MONTPELIER - Vermont’s Legislature has become the first in the nation to approve a recreational marijuana legalization bill.

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 by the Vermont House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 79-66. The bill has already been passed by the Senate and will go directly to Gov. Phil Scott.

Other states have legalized marijuana following a voter referendum, but no state has yet 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 Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, 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."

Wednesday's vote closed a divisive debate over legalization, particularly in the House, that once prompted Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe to predict that legalization would take a "miracle" to pass this year. Advocates hugged and shared high-fives outside the two chambers after the vote.

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Earlier in the day, the House Judiciary Committee voted 8-3 to support the limited bill, which was pitched as a compromise between the House and Senate approaches on marijuana.

The proposal incorporates H.170, the House-supported bill that would legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, two mature marijuana plants or four immature marijuana plants for adults over 21. The effective date has been pushed back one year until July 1, 2018.

The bill also sets up a nine-member commission to study the best way to regulate marijuana in the future.

"There's no slam dunk of any kind," said Rep. Barbara Rachelson, D-Burlington, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, speaking about the prospect of a legal marijuana market. "It just is doing work that could be used next year or in subsequent years."

The proposal would continue to prohibit driving under the influence of marijuana and the use of marijuana in public places. Employers, landlords, schools and prisons could continue to restrict marijuana use.

Opponents worried that the bill lacked safeguards to prevent use of marijuana among people younger than age 21. The Vermont Agency of Education asked lawmakers to delay legalization until more funding could be found for health education and counselors to prevent marijuana use.

"The data indicates that our youth are using marijuana more infrequently, and I don't think we should put that in jeopardy at this point in time," said Rep. Scott Beck, R-St. Johnsbury, who voted against the bill.

Rep. Susan Buckholz, D-Hartford, said declining marijuana use among Vermont high school students, measured at 37 percent by the latest Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, shows that anti-drug education is working.

“We need to make a move to be treating this as a public health issue for those for whom it is a health issue, and letting other people use this substance responsibly,” Buckholz said.

Under the proposal, a new commission would be responsible for drafting a system to tax and regulate marijuana and submitting the plan to the Legislature. The end result would need to be a marijuana regulatory system that "increases public safety and reduces harm to public health."

The Marijuana Regulatory Commission would include the following people: two members of the House of Representatives and one member of the public appointed by House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, two members of the Senate and one member of the public appointed by the Senate's Committee on Committees, Attorney General T.J. Donovan or his designee, Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts or his designee, and one member appointed by Gov. Scott.

"The administration will be at the table, along with the attorney general and others," said Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee. "With Massachusetts and Maine starting up in 2018, I think we need to continue this conversation."

Republican Tom Burditt, R-West Rutland, was initially cautious about any legislation relating to government regulation of marijuana but changed his mind and supported the bill in Wednesday's committee vote. The remaining three Republicans on the committee were opposed.

Scott has repeatedly expressed concerns about marijuana and highway safety. Scott has the choice to sign the bill, veto the bill, or allow it to become law without his signature.

The first-term Republican governor declined to say prior to the House vote on Wednesday whether he would veto the legislation.

"I don't believe this is a priority for Vermont," Scott said. "I believe that what we should be doing is trying to find ways to protect those on our highways, deliver a level of impairment that is consistent throughout the Northeast, as well as to address the edibles for our kids, before we move forward with legalization. Having said that, I'm going to review the bill as it's passed."

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum.

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