Every year the laws on marijuana are changing from state to state. We understand that it can be difficult navigating these legalities. We wanted to make things easy, so we put together all the most recent updates to the Vermont Marijuana Laws. Learn more below!
Status: Fully Legal
Decriminalized: Yes
Medical: Yes
Patrons of Vermont Enjoy Home-Grown Marijuana Legally; Retail Sales Bill Passes Senate, House Looks to Take on Bill in 2020.
Advocates in Vermont fought a long and hard battle to end prohibition on marijuana by passing a bill in 2019. This bill (S-54) would regulate and tax the sales of cannabis. In February, Vermont voted on just that, and passed in the Senate 23-5.
In May of 2019, the House approved the bill, but were unable to finish the work on the new bill before the4 session ended. We should see the finalization of this bill in thew early 2020 session.
Jill Krowinski, House Majority Leader, said that the delay was a temporary road block, explaining “This bill is a top priority for us, and will be taken up in January.”
Governor Phil Scott signed a bill in January of 2018 (H-511) which legalized limited cultivation and possession of marijuana for adults 21 and older. This officially took effect in July of 2018.
Even though 9 other states have already legalized cannabis via ballot initiatives, Vermont was the first state to do it through a legislative process, meaning the people of Vermont did not vote on this.
Medical Cannabis Improves in Vermont
In June of 2017, the governor of Vermont signed a bill (S.16) that improved access to the medical cannabis program. They expanded the qualifying conditions list by adding PTSD, Crohn’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease.
They also expanded the dispensaries, by adding one more to their total, and allowing each dispensary that was previously open, to open a second location. When the patient list hits 7,000 then a sixth dispensary will be opened.
In 2016 the governor at the time Peter Shumlin improved the medical program by adding chronic pain, and glaucoma to the list of qualify conditions. It was previously “severe pain” which is much harsher than chronic pain.
This bill also changed the patient-provider relationship period from 6 months to 3 months. Meaning you would have to be seeing that doctor for at least 3 months before applying to the medical program.
For more information on the Vermont Marijuana Laws, stay tuned for updates! Join the mailing list for immediate updates to changes on marijuana laws in your state!
