Monday, March 28, 2016
Shumlin wrote an op-ed on the subject on March 18. He referred to a measure on which Massachusetts residents are scheduled to vote in November as a “bad pot bill.”
Never mind that it’s actually a referendum, not a bill.
Shumlin argued, “If Massachusetts moves forward with their legalization bill while Vermont delays, the entire southern part of our state could end up with all the negatives of a bad pot bill and none of the positives of doing the right thing.”
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana legalization , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
He explained that people had been making hash oil using butane, a highly flammable solvent, in the apartment above the Monkey House at 30 Main Street. McGivern characterized the operation as “equally as volatile” as meth production.
In such labs, people use butane to extract THC from marijuana, then evaporate the solvent, often by boiling the oil. The end product is a waxy resin with a high concentration of THC. Butane — commonly used in lighter fluid — is highly flammable, meaning the process is prone to explosions.
During the last few years, U.S. law enforcement officers have been raising the alarm about the dangers of producing butane hash oil, or BHO. In response to a series of explosions, Colorado, where marijuana is legal, passed a law last year that makes home extraction a felony. California has also contended with BHO-related explosions in recent years.
Tags: BHO , butane hash oil , cannabis related , Vermont State Police , Winooski , Image , Web Only
Monday, February 22, 2016
The bill nicked its way through the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, passing by a 4-3 vote, including the support of one member who says she’ll vote against it on the Senate floor. “I think the debate on the floor is important,” said Sen. Diane Snelling (R-Chittenden), in explaining her vote.
Tags: Cannabeat , Diane Snelling , Jane Kitchel , Joe Benning , marijuana legalization , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
Thursday, February 11, 2016
The tax — along with fees that would be charged to those growing, testing and selling marijuana — would bring in an estimated $6.9 million in 2018 and $14.4 million in 2019, according to the legislature's Joint Fiscal Office.
Senate Finance Committee chair Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) said the estimates are conservative and are made on the premise that the state would permit 25 retail stores, 15 small cultivators and 10 large cultivators in the first year, with more the next year.
The 25 percent tax is the same rate that Oregon started charging this year, Ashe said, but less than the 37 percent Washington state charges. The Vermont proposal would be an excise tax charged on marijuana sales made at stores that sell marijuana.
The rate at which marijuana is taxed is a key decision, which will influence whether a legal market can compete with the black market while still raising enough money to provide the drug counseling and policing that advocates have promised.
But there are questions about whether the marijuana legalization bill will even reach the Senate floor this year, let alone make it to a more reluctant House chamber.
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana , Peter Shumlin , Tim Ashe , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Friday, January 29, 2016
“It’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Sen. Jeanette White (D-Windham), a legalization supporter. She acknowledged the bill does not go as far as she would like. It would not, she noted, legalize home growing of marijuana.
The bill would allow Vermont residents to legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana and for out-of-staters to have a quarter of an ounce. The state would issue permits to up to 30 growers of varying sizes and to 20 to 40 marijuana stores.* Revenue raised would go entirely to drug treatment and prevention, law enforcement and implementation of legalization.
The bill, which still has to clear the Senate's Finance and Appropriations committees, appears headed for a vote on the Senate floor.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Shumlin and Sears, the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, stood side-by-side at an afternoon press conference to champion a plan that is more restrictive than what some legalization advocates want. The two say a bill that Sears crafted over the weekend with Shumlin's help would create a system that is safer and more sensible than the current illegal market.
“Listen, the black market is failing,” Shumlin said. “Dealers don’t care how old you are when they sell you their wares.”
“If we can do a tightly regulated, from-seed-to-sale-system … I think that is far superior to the black market,” Sears said.
Sears earlier in the day unveiled the 53-page draft bill that his committee will work on for the rest of this week. It would allow for the legal sale of up to an ounce to Vermonters over age 21, and a quarter of an ounce for adults from out of state. The market initially would be served by 10 to 20 licensed marijuana cultivators, who would have to be Vermont residents.
Sears' committee is expected to vote on a bill with revisions Friday.
Tags: Cannabeat , Dick Sears , marijuana legalization , Peter Shumlin , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Monday, January 25, 2016
Sears, who holds considerable power in crafting the legislation, said that's based on testimony from officials in Colorado, Washington and Vermont. A Colorado official told the committee that it is difficult to police home growers to keep them within quantity limits and to prevent them from selling.
While Sears’ stance could derail legalization efforts this year, advocates may be willing to go along with him in hopes of keeping legalization alive.
“It’s not going to make every member of our coalition happy, but we’ll support any path forward," said Matt Simon, New England political director of the Marijuana Policy Project.
Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia), a supporter of legalization and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, agreed. “If he insists on going there, I might very well join him,” Benning said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a bill-killer.”
Tags: Cannabeat , Dick Sears , marijuana legalization , Vermont Legislature , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
"I think we're missing a big opportunity," Lang told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a public hearing Tuesday night at the University of Vermont's Davis Center. Citing the attraction of Vermont's cheese, maple syrup and beer, he said, "It could be this, too."
When the Senate committee, which is considering legislation that would legalize recreational sale and use of marijuana, went to the state's largest city and held a hearing at the state's largest college on whether to legalize marijuana, most in the audience — not surprisingly — were for it.
Speakers stacked up 21-7 in favor of legalization, according to Sen. Joe Benning's count. The Republican from Caledonia County, who supports legalization, said speakers at three earlier hearings this week, in Bennington, Brattleboro and Springfield, also leaned in favor, but by smaller margins. He said he expects a hearing Wednesday night in St. Johnsbury to draw more nay-sayers.
Tags: Cannabeat , marijuana legalization , University of Vermont , Vermont Senate , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
On del Pozo's first day on the job last September, Mayor Miro Weinberger gave the new chief 90 days to assess the problem and come up with recommendations. Later that month, the council passed a resolution urging the police department to consider new strategies for combatting drug trafficking.
Del Pozo didn't quite hit his deadline, but on Monday he delivered a data-laced presentation that included several proposals to address the problem. Some were predictable — adding more officers, for instance. But others were more out-of-the-box, such as prioritizing heroin-addicted prostitutes for treatment.
Echoing the calls of many public officials, the police chief advocated for an approach that distinguishes between people selling drugs for profit and those selling to feed their addictions.
Vermont Health Commissioner Harry Chen, University of Vermont Medical Center CEO John Brumsted and Howard Center CEO Bob Bick also gave presentations.
According to police data, overdose calls in Burlington increased to 69 in 2015, up from an average of 34 during the previous three years.
But noting that only "a few dozen" key actors were "fueling" the drug trade, del Pozo told the council, "It's not this overwhelming tidal wave of a problem. It's serious and it's growing and it's bringing violence, but it's manageable in the scale of the city."
Tags: Brandon del Pozo , Burlington city council , Miro Weinberger , opiates , Opioid Crisis , Image , Web Only
Friday, December 18, 2015
Attorney General Bill Sorrell announced Friday that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has agreed to give the state a 20 percent discount off the wholesale price for the next year. Currently, Narcan runs about $30 a dose, so Vermont will get a $6 dollar rebate for each dose it purchases.
Gov. Peter Shumlin excoriated Amphastar last April for jacking up the price of Narcan. In a letter to the company, he noted that the state health department paid $113 for 10 doses in March and $183 for the same amount in April.
Demand for the drug has grown in response to the nationwide increase in prescription opiate and heroin addiction. Seven Days recently wrote about Vermont's efforts to distribute Narcan to addicts and their acquaintances, cops and drug-treatment staff.
States including Massachusetts and Connecticut have secured similar arrangements with Amphastar.
Tags: Narcan , Bill Sorrell , Peter Shumlin , Amphastar Pharmaceuticals , Image , Web Only