Late this week or early next week, Sen. David Zuckerman plans to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in Vermont.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan says he’s in no hurry to endorse the idea. But as he prepares for the debate, it occurs to him that he has no idea what a marijuana retail store looks like.
He’s also having trouble deciphering contradictory reports from 2,000 miles away about whether legalizing marijuana has made Colorado roads more dangerous or not.
So Donovan, state Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn and others are headed to Colorado next week. They hope to get a firsthand look at the first state to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
“I called Keith Flynn up and said, ‘We should go there, because I can’t separate fact from fiction,’” Donovan said. “Keith agreed.”
A report issued last month by the RAND Corporation detailed aspects of Colorado’s experience as the first state to legalize marijuana. The report’s authors indicated much of the law’s impact is still evolving a year after retail sales became legal.
Many Vermont officials, including Gov. Peter Shumlin, have said they believe Vermont should wait for more information from Colorado and elsewhere before proceeding.
Zuckerman (P/D-Chittenden) said he hopes Senate committees will at least start considering his bill this year.
His legislation will reflect lessons already learned from Colorado, he said. That state has found that some unwittingly consume too high a dose of marijuana edibles. Zuckerman’s bill will include regulations governing the size of edible portions.
His bill will also try to put a Vermont stamp on marijuana legalization. Farmers would be permitted to grow half of the wholesale marijuana in the state, said Zuckerman, who is himself a farmer. In an attempt to keep large, out-of-state interests at bay, only modified public-benefit corporations could produce the stuff.
Zuckerman said he’s proposing a $40-an-ounce tax on marijuana. Revenue would be targeted to pay for enforcement, drug prevention and other specific programs.
He estimates that would generate $25 million a year from in-state users and more from out-of-state visitors.
Retail stores and clubs would apply for permits from the state. Unlike in Colorado, the number of permits available would be limited.
Zuckerman said that while his bill will set out many parameters for legalization, he knows he hasn’t thought of everything.
“I don’t know the perfect formula,” he said.
Whether or not Zuckerman’s bill passes this year, it is likely to generate considerable debate. Donovan said he needs to be ready for that debate.
“We’re going to be asked questions about it,” he said. “I want to give informed answers.”
Donovan said his voyage to Colorado will be packed with meetings and visits, including with Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office, a tour of a marijuana growing facility and chats with ordinary citizens.
Joining Donovan and Flynn on the Sunday-Wednesday trip will be:
- Mary Alice McKenzie, executive director of the Burlington Boys & Girls Club and co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana-Vermont, a group that opposes legalization.
- Bill Young, executive director of Maple Leaf Treatment Center in Underhill.
- David Mickenberg, a Vermont lobbyist who represents the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.
- Rutland Sheriff Stephen Benard.
Young said he wants to hear what impact, if any, schools have seen on student behavior and performance since Colorado legalized marijuana.
“Are there any effects on families?” he said. “If there’s a wave of problems with kids and families, somebody should have seen something.”
Young said he wants to know whether police are seeing more impaired drivers and how they detect marijuana use. He also wants to hear from consumers.
“I’d like to talk to somebody who smokes dope,” he said.
Mickenberg said he has visited Colorado medical marijuana facilities but has not returned to the state since recreational marijuana sales became legal.
“I think it’s an incredible opportunity to see how it works,” Mickenberg said.
He said he’s interested in seeing how marijuana operations are regulated, how highway safety has been affected and what the impact has been on youths.
“It’s all the sticky issues that the legislature’s going to grapple with this session or next,” he said.
Donovan said he’ll pay for his trip with asset forfeiture money his office collects. Those funds can be used for law enforcement training and education, he said.
Mickenberg said his costs will be paid by his client, the Marijuana Policy Project. Young said he and Maple Leaf will pay his way.
Flynn did not return calls seeking comment.
Along with talking to officials who’ve had personal experience with Colorado’s law, Donovan says he wants to walk into a marijuana store in Denver and see what it looks, feels and smells like.
Even though it’s legal there, he said, “I’m not going to sample. I will have no brownies.”
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These forks, most probably, are headed to Colorado to “discover” information to fortify their predetermined positions not for an objective review of Colorado’s experience. What will not be mentioned is that Colorado failed to properly open their marketplace in an orderly fashion. A more conservative approach would begin by legalizing the sale of “bud and leaf” first – allowing the state to observe and analyze that first step and then decide whether to permit the sales of derivatives such as THC and CBD oils. LATER possibly allowing the sales of editable laced (infused) with these or other of the 100 active compounds derived from marijuana once they had a handle on effects and implications of their actions
Seven Days limits comments to 500 words – My position on the subject is available on-line at: http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar… or my full article “For Vermont’s Desperate Legislature – “Is it all about the Money ?” which appeared in the WORLD (Jan 20th issue)
H. Brooke Paige
Oh no, is this going to be like the F-35’s? “Pretend” to research, put it out to the public, do not consider the many neighborhoods and families saying NO we don’t want it because of its adverse effects and then, because a few chosen few want it, Shumlin, Leahy, Pomerleau (including developers, money makers, etc.) it is approved “to boost Vermont’s economy”. I personally do not want Vermont to legalize dope. People I know live in Colorado and they are still struggling to get it right and I think it will be a while before they do. They are now experiencing a massive surplus from the growers, dispensaries are on every corner, millions of dollars are being made, which was promised to education, environment, communities, etc. and nothing is being done yet…Vermont already has a heroin drug problem, with many “gangs” making the state their territory, a large homeless and mental health population, do you think this will make it better? Having smoked a lot of marijuana in the 70’s, I know it causes lethargic behaviors, robs you of your energy, makes communicating difficult and can be addictive. It is a proven scientific fact that it does change your brain and memory cells and contrary to what they tell you, YES, it does have the potential to lead to harder stuff, simply because it has opened the doors to a substance. Hey, you just wrote a huge article on how people drive crazy when it snows, how do you think it will be under the influence and driving? Please don’t let the lure of easy money cloud your eyes, but concentrate on getting some stable, reliable, well paying jobs to Vermont so people can stay here, which is not military or drug related…Shumlin, are you listening?
Why is it that farmers are going to be the growers. This is an industry that has generated many growers with various strains and growing techniques. Unless I miss my guess this is not the what farmers have been doing in their spare time. The pot growers although illegal have been working on this for ages and I bet are good at what they do. This could be a cottage industry employing many in the field to produce their various strains and even increasing employment. If we are going to only allow the employed to have a shot at this, or at least the bulk of it, then this will not be beneficial on as many levels as possible. We have an opportunity to take the big guys out of controlling this product and more of our local economy. Small growers will bring more notoriety to our state as “Vermont Grown” than say Seagrams or Anheuser Busch. When IBM leaves they take 8k jobs. These hurt us. Let’s look at a new model.
I am happy to see that the fact-finding tour includes both pro-and anti-legalization folks. I support the legalization of small amounts of recreational marijuana although I have never smoked the stuff myself and don’t intend to if it becomes legal. I also think the points raised by Bill Magnus are very well-taken.
And while we’re at it, can somebody please explain to the Feds that industrial hemp, while a cousin to marijuana, is not the same thing and shouldn’t be illegal to grow. You can’t smoke it, unless you want to get really sick. it is used to make rope, twine, and other stuff that can be made out of fibrous materials. It is used in products like hand lotion. It is legal to BUY products made from hemp; why isn’t it legal to grow the hemp that these products are made from? Hello?
The idea of having a legalized epidemic is disturbing
Zuckerman is brain dead inhaling too much GMO Kush no doubt. 40 dollar s an oz haha. Washington State got greedy and the illegal market undercut the price they arent selling through the state stores its cheaper to buy it onthe black market. and its legal to have it we have had a robust illegal market for years in Vermont the hashish boyos funded Bernie Sanders campaigns back in the dayout of the Chicken bone as Bernie looked the other way for years When they made Burlington the port city for illegal contraband.
So if Zuckerman thinks he will kill a stuffed pig by legalizing weed he is wrong. untaxed weed will be forty an oz cheaper all day long.
Look at Zicukerman who fails to understand the economics of an Organic Tomato and piles bushels of them at the Coop to rot becasue his prices are too damn high and the market is flooded with home grown tomates in August. Like Dave the trustifarian. farmer he is busy blowing smoke up your skirt if he thinks this will be a huge money maker for VT.
A recent U.S. government study, the largest case controlled study to date regarding DUI of cannabis, found that cannabis is not associated with increase crash risk once adjusted for confounding variables such as age, race, gender, and the presence of other drugs, including alcohol:
“This analysis shows that the significant increased risk of crash involvement associated with THC and illegal drugs shown in Table 3 is not found after adjusting for these demographic variables.”
Further, they found that cannabis did not add to the crash risk for drivers under the influence of alcohol:
“As was described above, there was no difference in crash risk for marijuana (THC)-positive drivers who were also positive for alcohol than for marijuana (THC)-positive drivers with no alcohol, beyond the risk attributable to alcohol.”
They found that alcohol significantly increased crash risk:
“at moderate alcohol levels (0.05 BrAC) risk increases to double that of sober drivers, and at a higher level (0.10 BrAC) the risk increases to five and a half times. At a BrAC of 0.15, the risk is 12 times, and by BrACs of 0.20+ the risk is over 23 times higher.”