

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin hopes to bring his state into the modern age by legalizing marijuana.

With a bill currently up for debate in the state’s House of Representatives, Vermont stands to become the first state to legalize marijuana for adult use through legislation instead of a voter-approved ballot initiative.

In an interview with TIME on Thursday, Gov. Shumlin explained why states with legal cannabis laws in place have an advantage over states that still include pot in their drug war.

“There is no question that the war on drugs has failed when it comes to marijuana policy, that America is going to move to a more sensible policy state by state,” Shumlin told TIME. “And I think the more enlightened states are trying to get ahead of this one.”

Shumlin also explained the onus to pass a marijuana bill through the legislature rather than an election.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has said he’s going to legalize it within two years in Canada, and that’s our northern border,” said Shumlin. “Our southern border is Massachusetts, and they’re having a referendum this fall. Frankly, if theirs passes, it gives us all the negatives of a bad marijuana bill and none of the positives.”

The governor also brought up issues such as federal descheduling (“I agree with Sen. Sanders that we should make the federal change”) and the hypocrisy behind classifying marijuana as a banned substance.

“I’m always surprised that we talk about pot as if we don’t have legal alcohol and legal tobacco sales,” explained Shumlin. “Government doesn’t want you doing any of those things in excess but to continue to pretend that by outlawing marijuana, you’re keeping it out of the hands of kids and adults is a level of denial that as governor — I can’t live in La La Land.”

Vermont’s marijuana legalization bill was approved by the Senate in February, and is currently being debated in the House.