MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont state senator has filed a long-promised bill to legalize marijuana in the state, but he and the chairs of two key legislative committees are giving it little chance of passage this year.
Sen. David Zuckerman’s bill would allow a Vermont resident, 21 or older, to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, two mature marijuana plants, seven immature plants and any additional marijuana produced by the plants. Personal cultivation would have to be indoors in a secure place.
“Vermont’s prohibition of marijuana has failed,” Zuckerman said in a statement. “Vermonters understand that marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and they are ready for a new approach.”
The bill also envisions a state Board of Marijuana Control and creates a regulatory structure for the cultivation, production, testing and retail sale of marijuana at stores and “marijuana lounges” where people could smoke on the premises.
It would levy taxes of $40 an ounce for marijuana flowers, $15 per ounce for leaves, and $25 for immature marijuana plants. Edible marijuana products would have to be sold in opaque, child-resistant packaging, with each containing a single serving.
Criminal penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana would remain. Smoking in a public place would be prohibited, and providing pot to minors would be illegal.
Sen. Richard Sears and Rep. Maxine Grad, the chairs of the Senate and House Judiciary committees, respectively, said they doubted such legislation would pass this year. They said there won’t be enough time to give the complex issue adequate review.
Zuckerman, a Progressive who represents Chittenden County, also acknowledged in an interview the measure has little chance of passing this year, with about a month to go before a key deadline for it to advance.
“I’ve heard comments from a variety of people that it is inevitable that this will happen,” Zuckerman said. “Some of the question is when, and what will the process be to get there?”
Bills that don’t pass this year - the first year of the two-year legislative term - are held over and can be acted on in the second. Zuckerman called passing the marijuana bill “a realistic possibility this biennium.”
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