Vermont’s House Speaker Shap Smith recently decided he may support a bill to legalize adult marijuana use in Vermont according to reporter Bob Kinzel of the NPR covering the development.
The four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington) that have chucked cannabis prohibition have done so by popular vote on binding ballot initiatives passed by citizens, not legislators. Historically, circa 1996, most all substantive cannabis law reforms at the state level have happened because of ballot initiatives, not legislation.
With national surveys and the vote totals in favor of legalizing cannabis in the four vanguard states equaling similar levels of support–54%–some elected officials have finally ‘got it’ about the need to end cannabis prohibition, if only because it is no longer politically popular.
A state legislature voting in the majority for cannabis legalization, with a supportive governor awaiting passed legislation to sign, has yet to happen in America.
Read more on NORML.org by clicking here.
– See more at: http://blog.norml.org/2015/09/02/vermont-legislature-will-they-be-first-in-the-nation-to-legalize-marijuana/#sthash.UAn0HTHQ.dpuf.
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