Vermont Marijuana Commission Studies Legalization
Vermont Marijuana Commission Studies Legalization
Following Vermont Governor Phil Scott's veto of the Legislature's bill to decriminalize marijuana in the state, a special commission has been formed to study the impact of legalization. Gov. Scott said he wasn't opposed to legalized marijuana, but wanted answers to questions a commission could address.
The commission will determine the impact of legalizing cannabis including highway safety, public health concerns and the best way to tax and regulate marijuana. The commission's charge does not include debating whether or not the state should legalize marijuana.
The commission is scheduled to deliver its report in mid-January which will include recommendations on the appropriate way to test people for marijuana impairment, the possible funding and training for drug recognition experts, the need for youth prevention programs and if the state has enough substance abuse facilities. The Legislature, however, is expected to re-examine passing the same law when it reconvenes in January.
Eight US states have legalized recreational use of pot with twenty states passing medical marijuana laws as of October 2017. Fourteen more states have cannabis legalization questions on their ballot for the November 2017 election.
Neighboring states Maine and Massachusetts have passed laws legalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana, with New Hampshire set to vote on the issue in November of 2017.
I welcome your thoughts and opinions on this story and on the question of legalizing marijuana, in general.
This post received a 1.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @braveboat! To learn more, check out @randowhale 101 - Everything You Need to Know!
@originalworks
The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post by @braveboat to be original material and upvoted it!
To call @OriginalWorks, simply reply to any post with @originalworks or !originalworks in your message!
To enter this post into the daily RESTEEM contest, upvote this comment! The user with the most upvotes on their @OriginalWorks comment will win!
For more information, Click Here!
Special thanks to @reggaemuffin for being a supporter! Vote him as a witness to help make Steemit a better place!
I personally have always been an advocate for full legalization of marijuana and decriminalization of all drugs with an emphasis on treatment for those who need it instead of an emphasis on selectively prosecuting minorities for drug offenses and feeding the private prison industry.
I hope it passes in Vermont and consider myself lucky to live in Oregon where it is already legal.