By
Gemma Alexander
In the spring of 2016, Vermont was
poised to be the next state to legalize marijuana, following in the footsteps of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.
Governor Peter Shumlin had spearheaded the effort to legalize the drug in his
state, and legislators were stepping up to make it happen.
But then the Vermont House rejected the Senate-approved legislation, and
the drive to legalize recreational pot in the Green Mountain State came to a
halt. Despite this setback, Vermonters who favor legalization (and some 55
percent do, according to a poll sponsored by Vermont Public Radio) take heart in the
way their state has approached the issue and remain optimistic that legalized
recreational marijuana will eventually become a reality.
Legalization: next
logical step?
Medical marijuana has been legal in Vermont since 2004. In 2013, Vermont decriminalized recreational marijuana, replacing criminal penalties for possession of
small amounts of marijuana with civil fines. Possession of marijuana for
personal use in Vermont no longer results in a criminal record. However,
cultivation of marijuana and possession of large quantities (more than one
ounce) remain criminal offences.
The move to decriminalize marijuana was celebrated as much for being a
step toward racial equality as for rationalizing drug policy. In 2013 an ACLU study found significant racial profiling in marijuana
arrests. According to the report, marijuana use among blacks and whites is
roughly equivalent, but arrests of African Americans are much higher – in
Vermont, African Americans were 4.4 times more likely than whites to be
arrested for possession of marijuana. Nationwide, that number is 3.7.
In light of such statistics, decriminalization is a useful tool for
reducing mass incarceration and its disproportionate effects on minorities. But
it leaves possession of recreational amounts in a legal gray area: not a crime,
but not entirely lawful, either. Legalization would resolve this ambiguity, but
questions remain – foremost among them: How to create a regulatory system that
allows consumers to obtain marijuana legally while meeting the state’s need to
control and tax the use of the drug?
Building a
legislative framework
Vermont’s legislature has been quietly considering legalization for
years. Last year the legislature commissioned a report on legalization, which provided a fairly nuanced
review of legalization options. It also predicted possible tax revenues of up
to $75 million. In something of a surprise move, Shumlin proposed the outline
of a legalization plan during his 2016 State of the State address in January,
despite having expressed doubts about legalization only days before.
Legislators moved quickly in response to Shumlin’s endorsement of legalization.
In late February 2016, the Senate approved a bill based on his outline, sending
it to the House of Representatives in time for action during the current
legislative session. The House, however, rejected the Senate bill, citing concerns over the regulation
of legalized pot.
Indeed, there were many details to be worked out, including how much
sales tax to charge and exactly how marijuana tax revenue would be spent (drug
prevention and treatment programs, together with law enforcement, were expected
to receive the lion’s share).
Policymakers also debated the potential effects on Vermont’s major
industries. In a February 5 hearing on potential impacts to tourism, Vermont’s commerce
secretary, Pat Moulton, stated, “[Marijuana] is already here. When one of the
top 10 reasons Mad River Glen [ski area] kept its single chair was so you don’t
have to share your weed, that would suggest that it’s already here, and I’m not
sure it’s going to impact the tourism economy that greatly.”
Despite the failure to pass a bill this time around, the issue appears
likely to re-emerge in the next legislative session.
Experts say Vermont
is doing it right
Given that marijuana legalization seems inevitable in many, if not all,
parts of the United States, marijuana advocates and doubters are unanimous in
calling for a regulated marketplace, citing both the potential tax income and
the need for consumer protections. So far, citizen initiatives have driven the
legalization of marijuana, leading policymakers to develop regulatory systems
hastily after the fact.
“Ballot initiatives are a terrible way to make policy changes when the
technical details matter,”writes Mark Kleiman, professor emeritus of public policy at UCLA. States like Washington and Oregon continue to modify the technical details to correct
inconsistencies, redundancy, and oversights in their initial regulations.
If the movement to legislatively legalize marijuana in Vermont
eventually passes, it will be the first time that a legislature has proactively
studied the options for legalization and subsequently used that research to
develop a regulatory framework. Learning from the complications that have
arisen in other states, Shumlin’s proposal called for marijuana legalization to
include protections to keep adolescents from buying the drug; taxation and
spending policies that support addiction prevention; comprehensive penalties
for marijuana offenses, especially DUI laws; and a temporary ban on edibles,
pending further analysis.
Vermont is too late to be the first state to legalize marijuana, but,
despite this year’s outcome, it might still be the first one that makes it look
like a good idea.
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