Vermont may become the 9th state to allow recreational marijuana and the 1st state to do so via legislation. Last Wednesday, the Vermont house approved a bill 79-66 which would create a regulatory structure for the cultivation, processing, sale and use of recreational marijuana by July, 2018. The Vermont Senate previously passed the bill with a 20-9 vote. The bill will now be sent to the Governor for a veto, signature, or no decision, only a veto would prevent it from becoming law. The other 8 states that allow recreational marijuana have done so through voter referendums.
July 2018 is not a random date, the bill references two neighboring states, Maine and Massachusetts, which will allow retail stores to sell marijuana in July 2018. Another border neighbor-Canada is looking at Summer 2018 for when licensed retail stores will begin selling marijuana as well.
We will update this blog either when the Governor acts on this bill or Ben & Jerry’s commemorates the passage with a new ice cream flavor. We are anxiously awaiting both.