Vermont legislators move to soften harsh marijuana laws

State legislators move to soften harsh marijuana laws

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By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: February 4, 2009

MONTPELIER – At least 20 House lawmakers have attached their names to legislation that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The bill, introduced by Rep. David Zuckerman, would treat possession of an ounce or less of pot as a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine. Zuckerman, a Burlington Progressive, said Tuesday that the time has come for Vermont to replace criminal marijuana statutes that are heavy handed and out of touch.

"This is about policy falling in line with common culture and removing the criminal label from something commonly used as a recreational drug," Zuckerman said Tuesday.

The issue earned widespread attention in the Statehouse last year when Senate lawmakers considered a similar proposal. Though a public hearing, attended by about 100 people, and extensive committee testimony revealed popular support for the measure, the bill never passed through the General Assembly.

Prospects don't look any brighter this year. House Speaker Shap Smith indicated Tuesday that his body will be focusing on the state's immediate economic crisis – likely to the exclusion of marijuana decriminalization.

Rep. William Lippert, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his committee is too overwhelmed with a huge sex crimes bill to dedicate any time right now to the issue.

"I see no likelihood we will be taking up anything other than S.13 between now and Town Meeting Day," Lippert said. "What happens after then I don't even know."

Still, decriminalization proponents said Vermont would be well served to at least consider the debate. Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand, among the more respected advocates of marijuana decriminalization, said too much police work is focused on too benign a crime.

"I think how we respond to marijuana creates more public harm than the use of the substance itself, and to me that suggests we should find a way to change our response," Sand said Tuesday.

People caught with an ounce or less of marijuana aren't languishing in jail cells, Sand said. But police are expending valuable public safety resources on arrests and related paperwork.

"It frees police up so they're not spending hours processing a low-end, small quantity marijuana case, and that to me is a reasonable incremental step in adjusting how we respond to marijuana use," Sand said.

The decriminalization issue now has its own nonprofit advocacy organization. The Vermont Alliance for Intelligent Drug Laws, a one-woman shop in Montpelier, promises to galvanize grass-roots support around Zuckerman's bill.

"We should not be making criminals out of people who choose to use a substance that remains illegal for reasons that are unreasonable and make no sense," said Nancy Lynch, head of VALID.

Lynch pointed to a Jan. 9 Mason-Dixon poll of 625 Vermont voters. The poll, commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., (also a key financial backer of VALID) found that 63 percent of residents supported a $100 civil fine, with no possibility of jail time, for people caught with an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use.

Lynch said 12 other states have passed decriminalized small-quantity possession, the most recent being Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would decriminalize marijuana there as well.

The proposal faces stiff opposition from Vermont's law enforcement community, which testified last year against the bill. Gov. James Douglas also has voiced concerns over the measure.

Zuckerman said the budget crisis notwithstanding, legislators ought to be able to balance a range of bills in a single session. Rep. David Deen, a Putney Democrat and co-sponsor of the decriminalization bill, said it's unfair to dismiss the legislation as a "boutique" issue.

"(The Statehouse) is a place to explore ideas and calling something names is thwarting democracy," Deen said. "If you're 18 years old and you get popped for two joints and end up with a criminal record, this bill is not a boutique issue."