Cannabis Sales Bill on the Way to Vermont House

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] Vermont House committee approved a bill that would legalize cannabis sales on Monday, after legalizing adult-use possession and cultivation in 2018. Next, it goes to the chamber for a vote.

According to Marijuana Moment, the Appropriations Committee advanced the legislation 6-5, so now it can move forward as soon as this week. Although Vermont has legal possessions and home cultivation, there is currently no legal way to purchase cannabis. This bill would change all that. “After years of consideration, the House finally appears poised to agree with the Senate that cannabis sales should be regulated in Vermont,” said Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, according to Marijuana Moment. “Cannabis is already legal in Vermont, so it makes no sense that consumers should have to either grow it themselves or buy it from stores in Massachusetts.”

Gov. Phil Scott wasn’t a huge fan of signing the last cannabis legalization bill and has claimed that he won’t support one that would allow for selling cannabis. However, he has apparently changed his tune recently, as he’d like to use cannabis tax money for an after-school program he wants to fund.

Many who live in Vermont are strongly in favor of introducing legal cannabis sales according to a recent poll that shows three-in-four Vermonters support allowing adults to purchase cannabis as long as it is from “from regulated, taxpaying small businesses.”

New Hampshire’s House approved a bill last week that would be similar to the current policy in Vermont. It would allow adults to possess and grow cannabis, just not buy it, at least for the time being.

Vermont has been known to be pretty liberal on legal cannabis. The state is even considering legalizing mushrooms and kratom, and the state has also set up protections for those who get pulled over due to suspicion of cannabis possession.