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Vermont House Pulls Floor Vote On Marijuana Legalization Bill

marijuana
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

The anticipated vote on a bill in the Vermont House that would legalize the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults was aborted Tuesday after leaders determined there was not enough support to pass the measure.
H.170 would make it legal for adults at least 21 years old to possess up to one ounce of pot, two mature plants and four immature plants.  Instead of the expected floor vote, the bill was referred to the House Human Services Committee for further review.  It’s now uncertain if the bill will pass before the end of the session.

Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Director Laura Subin testified numerous times before committees in support of the bill and is disappointed that it did not move forward with a House vote.  “I think there was a general feeling of surprise in the building.  We anticipated that the vote was going to move forward but I think that by referring it to the Human Services Committee it does keep it alive and I do believe that once the Human Services Committee can hear the testimony that the Judiciary Committee heard they’ll be reassured and support will only grow for the legislation.  I think it’s important to note that if the vote had happened it was expected to be very, very close. So there already is substantial support for this legislation in the House.  So if it grows just a little bit I think we’ll be there.”

Among the concerns raised regarding the bill is its lack of prevention provisions.  But Subin notes that’s not the core purpose of the legislation.  “This bill is a criminal justice reform bill.  It doesn’t address prevention because prevention is outside the scope of this particular bill.  The committee members indicated that they are very concerned about prevention and treatment around all substances, not just marijuana, as am I and the coalition that I represent. But this bill was specifically intended to be a criminal justice reform bill.  It adjusted penalties for marijuana possession, possessing small amounts and growing a couple of plants. So prevention language was outside the scope. And there are a lot of great prevention efforts already taking place in Vermont.”

The bill was sent to the House Human Services Committee, which is responsible for drug prevention bills. Chair Ann Pugh says it became apparent during House debate that there were lingering questions regarding prevention.   “The Human Services Committee is the committee of jurisdiction around issues of prevention and it made sense to refer it to the committee to get some more information about what are the prevention programs out there.”

Pugh adds that while the bill is not dead, it is not a top priority for her committee.   “This is not the bill that is a major focus of our committee.  What is under discussion in our committee is making modifications to Vermont’s very successful Marijuana for Symptom Relief Program. And we have kept a strong firewall between Marijuana for Symptom Relief as contrasted to legalization.  And so we will be looking first at Marijuana for Symptom Relief.”

The Vermont Legislature has passed its session’s midpoint, and the move to send the bill back to committee could mean it will not pass before adjournment. It could be reconsidered when the Legislature returns in January.  Subin is hopeful lawmakers will finish work on the bill before they leave in May.   “It’s too soon to tell exactly how things will unfold from here.  I’ve learned to never say never about what’s going to happen in Montpelier.  There are mechanisms by which it could still advance this year. We’re hoping that the conversation will at the very least continue.”  

There is no timeline for review of the bill in the Human Services Committee.
 

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