Posted on 03/01/2020 11:49:15 AM PST by NobleFree
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) Vermont lawmakers have given the initial green light for a legal market for marijuana.
In a preliminary vote Wednesday night, the House approved the cannabis bill 90-54 following hours of debate.
They will be back Thursday afternoon to consider additional amendments before taking final action.
The bill calls for marijuana sales to be charged a 20% tax and some of that revenue would be used for after school and summer learning programs. The bill establishes a license for current medical dispensaries to start selling marijuana in 2022.
The bill also bans flavored cannabis vapes and sets a cap on the potency of the cannabis to 30% THC. It also creates a cannabis control board to oversee and regulate the sales of marijuana. Its members would be appointed by Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont.
Lawmakers also nixed the local options tax for communities that host cannabis retailers that is included in the Senate version.
But some still have concerns about the bill as is. Rep. Anne Donahue says the bill should do more to address health aspects of marijuana and its effect on young people.
"It's not about some radical extreme health risk, the problem is the minimization of the actual risk that's going on. We know that it's not nothing. We have psychosis induced by marijuana and so forth," said Donahue, R-Northfield.
One amendment up for debate Thursday by Donahue seeks to ban the advertising for marijuana to protect public health and safety.
If the bill passes Thursday, it will go to a conference committee to address differences with the Senate version.
Gov. Phil Scott has indicated he will support a tax and regulate market for marijuana only if the bill includes a provision allowing for saliva tests for impaired drivers.
Cigarettes bad. Weed good. What a world.
Rest assured; “after school and summer learning programs” will never see a dime of it. Just like the state lotteries were to support schools etc. Yet, they rarely ever do, but somehow, the politicians seem to just get richer and richer. Wonder why that is? /s
Ugh! One more state legalizing weed. Just as a reminder: Anyone with a pre-tax, reimbursement account (Flexible Spending Acct, Health Reimbursement Arrangement, or Health Savings Account), these types of accounts CANNOT be used to purchase marijuana or other related products. These accounts are governed at the federal level, and marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.
Vermont, home of Varmint Sanders.
What better way to cripple the young..........
Young people have been reporting since well before any state had legalized that they could get marijuana almost as easily as cigarettes or beer, although the latter two are much more widespread among adults. This evidence indicates that the best way of keeping a drug away from young people is to legalize it for adults - which gives its sellers an economic incentive to confine their sales to adults, namely the risk of losing their legal adult market.
Unfortunately we have more dangerous varmints in our Statehouse, busily violating their oaths and attempting to violate our natural, inherent and inalienable rights. They learned well from that decrepit old socialist.
Government needs to STF out of all vice. Big guv wants legal weed because they have generated a pot cult and will also generate BILLIONS in revenue. So the end result will be government getting voters and being the “answer” to the certain weed “crisis”.
I see no evidence that this has ANY positive effect on the young. Pot heads are plain mentally retarded. Don’t give me the have it together people who mange a little weed. Most people cannot handle pot and will go on eventually to heroin and crack.
Young people have been reporting since well before any state had legalized that they could get marijuana almost as easily as cigarettes or beer, although the latter two are much more widespread among adults. This evidence indicates that the best way of keeping a drug away from young people is to legalize it for adults - which gives its sellers an economic incentive to confine their sales to adults, namely the risk of losing their legal adult market.
Most people cannot handle pot and will go on eventually to heroin and crack.
Nonsense - half of Americans have used pot, but only a small fraction of them have used heroin or crack
“The bill calls for marijuana sales to be charged a 20% tax and some of that revenue would be used for after school and summer learning programs.”
Good to know that the kids can support there own programs by smoking lots of dope. No more selling cookies.
Vermont Bumper Sticker:
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SCHOOLS
SMOKE DOPE
True, but because they spent all their money on Dope then they will now have steal the cookies.
A 20% tax?
The ruling class are no different than organized crime. Pathetic.
This is precisely why legal marijuana hasn’t made a dent in the illegal market in any state that has legalized it. And the politicians scratch their heads in bewilderment. It also opens the door for contaminated product like we’ve seen with black market vapes.
Another cluster-* bought to you by the clueless left.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.