Green Mountain High? Vermont Senator Proposes Bill to Legalize Marijuana

Photo by David Cogswell

Legislation proposed in Vermont could make it the next state to legalize marijuana. If it is passed, Vermont will be the first state to pass legalization through legislation and not a public referendum. Vermont’s governor Peter Shumlin has said he would sign the bill if it is passed.

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The bill’s sponsor, state Senator David Zuckerman, named tourism as one reason to legalize pot. “It has the potential for economic development in the state, both from the production and sale of marijuana, but also in tourism attraction, and the various jobs affiliated with both of those scenarios,” Zuckerman said in an interview with NPR.

Vermont’s principal tourism attractions parallel those of Colorado, including skiing and outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and boating.

The bill proposed by Zuckerman on Tuesday would allow Vermont residents over age 21 to possess an ounce of marijuana, two mature plants and seven babies, and any marijuana produced by the plants. Plants would be restricted to secure indoor facilities.  

Non residents would be permitted to buy up to a quarter ounce of pot from a licensed retail establishment. The bill would place an excise tax of $45 per ounce of marijuana flower, $15 per ounce of any other marijuana product and $25 for every immature plant sold by cultivators.

The bill would establish a five-member Marijuana Control Board to implement regulations and oversee the industry.

Sixty percent of tax revenues would go to the state’s general fund, 10 percent for educational and criminal justice programs; 10 percent for enforcement; 5 percent to municipalities that host operations; 5 percent to municipalities that host stores; 2.5 percent for restorative justice programs; 2.5 percent to youth substance abuse funds; and 5 percent to the University of Vermont for marijuana research.

Smoking cannabis in public would remain illegal.

The bill also includes stipulations for the packaging of marijuana, to prohibit it from being marketed to underage targets.

Representative Chris Pearson said he would introduce the same bill in Vermont’s House of Representatives this week.

In a statement Zuckerman said, “Vermont's prohibition of marijuana has failed. Vermonters understand that marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and they are ready for a new approach.

“Part of the goal here is to actually undermine the illicit market.”

Medical marijuana has been legal in Vermont for 10 years.

Last week a group of Vermont officials, lobbyists and law enforcement professionals went on a fact-finding tour of Colorado to see how the state is doing one year after recreational marijuana was legalized.

Zuckerman’s bill limits the number of pot stores in the state to 42.

Pros and Cons

A study conducted by the Rand Corp. that was released in January concluded that the state could raise $35 to $50 million in new revenue annually by taxing and regulating marijuana.

The calculations presume that the law would have the effect of largely eliminating the black market in the state. It was based on rough estimates of 15 to 25 metric tons of marijuana consumption annually and spending of $125 to $225 million in Vermont now.

The study also weighed the advantages of low versus high taxation. Low taxation will more likely encourage preference of legal to black market marijuana. High taxation would create more fiscal benefits. Low taxes, which could increase availability, could encourage underage use, substance abuse and export to other states, the study warned.

The report also lists several other possible risks and costs of marijuana legalization, such as the cost of treating marijuana disorders, the costs of creating regulatory structures, and an increase in health problems from “frequent, high-dose marijuana use.”

Vermont Governor Shumlin countered those concerns in an interview with the Vermont Press Bureau by saying that although the report does a good job of discussing the pros and cons of legalization, “Let’s remember, we have this conversation and we pretend you can’t get marijuana now. In the real world, folks, if you want to get marijuana in Vermont, we’re in Lala Land if we’re pretending you can’t.”

Little chance is seen of the bill passing in 2014. Zuckerman said the issues are complex and it’s probably too late in the year to see passage this year.

But next year? Maybe.

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