Vermont Gov. Decides to Veto State’s Recreational Legalization Bill

Vermont Governor Phil Scott has vetoed the state’s recreational marijuana legalization bill. If the bill passed, Vermont would have become the first state to pass marijuana through the legislative process instead of via ballot initiative. Scott said he isn’t “philosophically opposed” to legalization, but wants some changes before he’ll sign the legislation into law.

Had the bill passed, Vermont residents would have been able to start growing their own marijuana in July 2018, My NBC 5 News reports, and residents ages 21 and older would have been able to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Vermont’s Lt. Governor, David Zuckerman says Scott “ignored the will of the voters” and that “prohibition has failed and causes approximately 100,000 Vermonters to be labeled lawbreakers. Vermont is now lagging behind other states in the region and is missing opportunities to capture revenue from an underground market that would allow us to address highway safety, drug education and treatment, and other needed state investments to reduce the temptation of drug use.”

Photo: greenrushdaily.com