Vermont Bill Would Legalize Recreational Marijuana Through State Legislature

A new bill introduced in the Vermont Senate could make the state the first to legalize recreational marijuana through the state legislature. In the four states in which recreational marijuana is currently legal, voters passed ballot initiatives.

The measure, Senate Bill 95, would legalize the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older, according to The Huffington Post. Adult residents could possess up to an ounce of marijuana, and grow up to nine plants (two mature, seven immature) for personal use.

Personal marijuana plants would have to be grown in secure indoor facilities. Non-residents could legally buy up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana from a licensed retail shop, the article notes.

Forty percent of tax revenue brought in from marijuana sales would be used for substance abuse treatment services; public education programs about the risks of drug use; law enforcement, and research on marijuana. Marijuana would be taxed at a rate of $40 per ounce of marijuana flower, $15 per ounce of any other marijuana product, and $25 for each immature marijuana plant sold by a cultivator.

The bill would prohibit smoking marijuana in public, and would establish a Marijuana Control Board to oversee the state industry and enforce regulations.

A group of Vermont lawmakers, lobbyists and law enforcement officials visited Colorado last week to learn more about the effects of recreational marijuana legalization. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has indicated if the measure passes, he would sign it into law.