Updated at 12:45 p.m., February 10, 2017, with a statement from Rebecca Kelley.
Gov. Phil Scott’s administration came out Thursday firmly against a marijuana legalization bill that has sparked interest in the House.
“We oppose this bill,” Vermont State Police Major Glenn Hall told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning.
“We,” as it turns out, extends beyond the state police to the governor and his administration.
“We speak with one voice,” said Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson. “That’s what the governor stands for also.”
Hall’s comments represent a shift from Scott’s own. The newly elected Republican governor has not embraced legalization, but he hasn’t explicitly come out against it either.
Last week, Scott said, “I didn’t say, ‘Never.’ I said, ‘Not now,'” adding that he’d prefer legislators focus on economic issues. He also said that highway safety and protecting youths remain concerns.
Hall was more explicit. He told the House Judiciary Committee that the legalization proposal, based on a law in Washington, D.C., “raises serious public safety concerns” and is largely “unenforceable.”
The committee is considering a bill that would legalize possession of up to two ounces of harvested marijuana, two mature plants and seven immature plants. The bill would not legalize sale or public use of the drug.
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“Two ounces of marijuana, we feel, is a significant quantity,” Hall said. “I think it’s a significant jump when you go from decriminalization to legalization.”
Hall said that if possession of that much marijuana is legal, police will have a harder time arresting dealers. An adult w
aiting in a high school parking lot with two ounces divvied up into smaller portions might be trying to sell that pot to teens, he said, but police won’t be able to simply arrest the person for possession.
“There’s not much I can do, short of witnessing an actual sale, which is not easy to do,” Hall said.
It’s no surprise that state police oppose legalization. But there’s a different dynamic to the debate this year under the administration of Scott, a Republican, than there was last year under Democratic governor Peter Shumlin.
Shumlin strongly supported legalization. His Public Safety commissioner, Keith Flynn, walked a careful middle line, while state police raised technical concerns.
Anderson said that sort of split wouldn’t occur in the Scott administration. “There won’t be different parts of DPS speaking on different sides of a bill,” Anderson said. “We will speak with one voice and it will generally be whatever the governor’s view is.”
The committee’s reaction to Hall’s testimony signaled another change in the debate this year.
When Hall said that legalization would make it harder to keep marijuana out of kids’ hands, committee chair Maxine Grad (D-Moretown) pushed back, arguing that that was not true of alcohol.
When Hall cited a Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area report on how legalization is playing out in Colorado, Grad openly scoffed. That report’s flaws have been widely noted, she said.
A year ago, Grad was skeptical of legalization. This year, she’s sponsoring the legalization bill, minus the Colorado-style taxed and regulated pot shops and lounges.
She said after the meeting that her committee will discuss whether to change the amount of marijuana that would be legal from two ounces to something less.
Scott spokeswoman Rebecca Kelley said Friday that while the governor, Public Safety and state police are aligned on the issue, Scott is willing to review any legalization bill the legislature sends him.
“Questions to be answered include a sufficient ability to measure impairment for highway safety, and better understanding impacts on public health,” she said.
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It’s time to move on this. The governor and state are going to miss out on a great opportunity to better our communitys. With most of the states around us legalizing it Vermont will see a huge influx of cannabis from these legal states. This is only going to drive the black market value down to a level where the state can’t compete if it does legalize. If the governor isn’t going to act on the people’s will, which is his job, then maybe we can pass it on our own with the majority of citizens supporting it. How would we go about it??? Any suggestions
So for all of you…It is no longer an issue of right and wrong. Your thinking, has tanked to the level of…why not legalize another drug, with the excuse that alcohol is worse! WOW! look at all the money it would bring in…so do it up for the money$$! What does that say about our value system and the message we are broadcasting to our children? There is no longer a sense of moral fortitude? Let’s just sell it on every street corner so everyone can be a drug dealer and be proud of it because…it is legal! Dig deep and explore where our thinking has migrated? To a higher standard? Or are we headed somewhere else?
Very very disappointing to hear Governor Scott not showing any interest in supporting legalization of marijuana in Vermont.
Listening to the statement from Major Glenn Hall shows exactly how out of touch law enforcement and the current administration is with the science and statistics related to legalization.
Trying to tie this in as a Public Health crisis is right in line with “reefer madness” and shows a lack of understanding and immature stance regarding this subject. The statistics are clear and there is data readily available.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/21/one-of-the-greatest-fears-about-legalizing-marijuana-has-so-far-failed-to-happen/?client=safari
My only suggestion is to really look at the reports and valid information about marijuana. I will admit i used to be recreational back in my teens and 20’s. But as the years go by and i am obviously aging along with the times. I find marijuana very helpful for arthritic pain in all my joints, my relentless fatigue and my depression/anxiety. I pray that Governor Scott and the VSP will take the time to really investigate the whole issue around this. I am actually seeking medical support so I can actually be able to use this as a relief with my pains and tiredness. In my pwn personal situation i would prefer marijuana over opiates and other painkillers, as in BUP. Alcohol is poison to me so thats out of the question anyhow. Maine is giving it a chance so why cant New England try it as well. if it becomes social travesty then modify or change the law.
It shouldn’t matter how much you have. It’s not like you can OD or get addicted to it? It would be like telling people they can only have a 6 pack of beer on them and two kegs. lol
As a professional healthcare worker I can honestly say that I’ve never seen someone come In with a cannabis-related illness or injury. Sure there are people that feel they are mentally addicted to the drug but there is absolutely no physical addiction and withdrawal. We prescribe hundreds of drugs that have far worse affects.
I’m on board with homegrown, it’s the VT way but how does this help our economy? The underground pot growers will still grow and sell and provide no tax dollars to out our economy. The two plant and two ounce limit is a joke and highly unforceable. You can get a pound off one plant if it’s big enough.
Looking toward Colorado their economy and people are thriving. Stop making excuses about catching stoned drivers and other issues you cannot control. Vermont is marketing their amazing craft beer and cider and we think cannabis is worse?! Please I see so many alcohol related medical issues. Let’s get smart about this and provide relief for our tax base, provide thousands of new jobs, and strengthen our failing infrastructure.
I concur with every comment posted here… Mr. Scott, the time is now, please, no more waffling & warbling…
Lead, or our Legislative body & Lt. Guv shall.
Appreciate it!
As an independent I voted for Phil Scott in the hope he would be reasonable about this issue once entering office. Marijuana legalization is going to happen, several republican administrations commissioned studies going back many decades trying to prove marijuana is a ‘bad’ drug. All of the studies found otherwise and thus were shelved.
As state after state around us legalizes marijuana, it becomes less reasonable for Vermont to stand alone. Alcohol is legal, it causes problems, we deal with them as an acceptable price to pay. It is the same for marijuana. Yes, legalization will cause problems, but those problems are less destructive than many other legal drugs including tobacco and alcohol and prescription barbiturates.
Please Governor Scott, work with the legislature to pass a legalized marijuana law, it is past due and given the state of our government, people need to be able to self medicate more than ever.
We’d all be better off if the police would focus on crimes with actual victims.
FACT Marijuana is less addictive and less harmful than Caffeine, let alone Alcohol and Tobacco; (3 Scientific Studies)
BTW, Dr Henningfield is a former NIDA Staffer;.
Addictiveness of Marijuana – ProCon.Org
procon.Org/view.background-resource.php?re…
Too bad Scott and friends don’t understand that legalizing and regulating cannabis is key to the understanding and solution of our opiate problem.