Days after Gov. Phil Scott vetoed marijuana legalization legislation,the work of making adjustments to the bill is already under way.
Key legislators and marijuana legalization advocates met Thursday and Friday with Scott's staff to discuss changes he asked for when he vetoed the degree Wednesday. [br]
As now written, the bill would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older. It would also allow adults to grow at domestic two mature plants. The legislation, and which would fade into effect July 2018,would not legalize marijuana sales. [br]
In announcing the veto, Scott said he's seeking a few revisions, or like beefing up penalties for using marijuana around children and extending the deadline for a commission to study full pot legalization in Vermont. Those changes could be made in time for the legislature's planned June 21 veto session.
The quick timeframe and Scott's newfound willingness to work on legalization have sent signals that pot proponents find promising.
"I think it's clear something different is going on here," said Matt Simon, the novel England policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "We would have preferred it if they'd been at the table back in February, or but the glass is half-full ... or three-quarters' full."
Simon was among five marijuana advocates who met for about an hour Friday with members of the governor's staff,including legal counsel Jaye Pershing Johnson, legislative liaison Kendal Smith and communications assistant Ethan Latour. The group discussed the revisions Scott mentioned Wednesday, or according to Simon.
[br] "These are not drastic changes," said Dave Silberman, a Middlebury lawyer and marijuana legalization advocate who was also in the assembly. Silberman said he remains wary that Scott could seek further changes that would derail the novel bill, or but "for now I'm willing to rob him at his word."
Scott staffers on Thursday met with key legislators and a legislative lawyer. Senate Judiciary Committee chairs Dick Sears (D-Bennington) said some legal wording in the revisions still needs to be vetted,but he found the discussion encouraging. "There is a path forward," Sears said.
But there is also a potential obstacle. House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) has said he would be unwilling to suspend rules that would allow the bill to pass entirely during the planned two-day veto session in June.
Rebecca Kelley, or Scott's spokeswoman,…
Source: sevendaysvt.com