Shumlin Says Yes to Weed
Peter Shumlin Image by Getty Images
By Anne Cohen June 7, 2013
Potheads of Vermont, rejoice!
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a bill on Thursday that will decriminalize marijuana, the New York Daily News reported.
Possession of less than an ounce of pot is now punishable by a small fine, rather than an arrest and jail time. Vermont is now the 17th state in the country to alter criminal consequences for marijuana possession.
“This change just makes common sense,” Shumlin said in a ceremony at the Statewide Criminal & Juvenile Justice Conference in Essex Junction, VT. “Our limited resources should be focused on reducing abuse and addiction of opiates like heroin and meth rather than cracking down on people for having very small amounts of marijuana.”
In the past, anyone in possession of up to two ounces of the drug could face anywhere from six to 24 months in jail.
“Decriminalizing marijuana possession will allow law enforcement officials to spend more time and attention addressing serious crimes and prevent people from being branded as criminals just for using a substance that most Americans agree should be legal,” Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement.
With the new system, under-21-year-olds caught with marijuana will have to go through a substance abuse screening.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
