Thoughts from the void: Cannabis and Vermont

Vermont is one of the US states that legalized cannabis for adult recreational use in 2018. It allowed for the possession, personal use and home cultivation of small amounts of cannabis but buying and selling was prohibited. In this regard, Vermont followed the right sequence of cannabis legalization, starting with what was most important first, the home growing of the plant, so that the most important part of legalization, which is access for the persons who need it the most, was addressed first.

Vermont is also the only other state, besides Illinois, that passed cannabis legalization through its legislature rather than through a ballot vote. In that sense, it is one of the two states where you could say that lawmakers acted to do what was right instead of forcing the people to demand their rights.

Subsequently legislation has started which aims at having commercial sales and social consumption areas in place by 2021. If enacted into law, S. 54 would establish the Cannabis Control Board as the state’s regulatory body for a legal cannabis market. Five types of licenses for various cannabis businesses would be available, and cannabis sales would be taxed with an excise tax of 16 percent, plus a two percent local option tax. The bill also includes measures to encourage women and communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition and the war on drugs to join the newly legal market says Marijuana Moment.

According to Tom Angell in Forbes, 'with the regional dynamic heavily shifting in favor of legalization in the Northeast, Vermont is a key state to watch when it comes to cannabis in 2019'.

Hemp cultivation in Vermont has been seeing a surge with an increase of 400% in the number of farmers registered between 2017 and 2018. The acreage under cultivation also increased 450% according to the VTDigger. 'And who or what is Vermont? It's the Green Mountain State, dotted with picturesque small towns, food co-ops, farmers markets and some of the best craft breweries in the country. And now, fields once used for hay are now filled with lush, green hemp plants 10-feet tall' said Jon Kalish in Vermont For NPR News.

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders who has been one of the most serious advocates of cannabis legalization for many years now is from Vermont. People like him have largely been the reason for Vermont being one of the pioneers in cannabis legalization in not just the US but in the world.

At least 35 US states have legalized cannabis for medical use so far. The federal US government however continues to keep cannabis in the Schedule 1 list of banned substances saying that it has no medicinal value. The list of US states that have legalized adult recreational cannabis is available here. All these states have legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, aimed specifically at improving public health, ensuring equity, reducing crime, decreasing the black market, improving law enforcement, reforming criminal justice, improving the economy, agriculture and industry, to name just a few reasons.

Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.

'In addition to Vermont, Illinois is another state in which measures allowing the non-medical use of cannabis were passed through the state legislature rather than through voters’ initiatives, as was the case in the other states that have legalized the nonmedical use of cannabis. In May 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which was signed by the state Governor in June. The sale of cannabis for non-medical use began on 1 January 2020. Under the law, adults aged 21 and older are allowed to purchase and possess up to 30 g of cannabis flower, edibles with a maximum of 500 mg of THC, or 5 g of cannabis concentrates. Non-residents of Illinois will be allowed to purchase half of those amounts. As in some other states, individual cities, villages and municipalities have the option to decide whether to allow the non-medical use of cannabis in their jurisdictions by passing ordinances. Nonetheless, local governments may neither prohibit home cultivation of cannabis nor “unreasonably prohibit” its non-medical use.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf