Vermont could soon be the very first state to make marijuana recreationally legal in a state through a legislative process rather than a ballot initiative.
Many may not know that Vermont does not allow ballot initiatives despite being a liberal state.
The state’s Democratic-controlled senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would make the drug legal recreationally. It was last week that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the measure.
Republican Governor Phil Scott is expected to sign the bill next.
If the bill is signed, it will allow adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and have two adult plants and four immature plants. The law would begin on July 1st.
“Vermont in particular doesn’t care very much what the attorney general thinks,” remarked Matt Simon, New England political director for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project. “With the way this bill is written, having a few plants, there’s nothing that the feds could do even if they wanted to.”