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Update: House Republicans blocked consideration of the bill, as reported by the Burlington Free Press. Nearly all House Republicans, who hold 53 seats, voted against the rule suspension for consid ering the marijuana measure. The bill would have allowed adults to possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana, plus two mature or four immature marijuana plants, beginning in July 2018.
Update: The majority of Senate members approved the new depenalization measure on Wednesday, June 21 — on the first day of the special session. The measure awaits action from the House tomorrow. It is unclear at this time whether House members will suspend the rules to debate the bill. Please call your House member now and urge that they allow debate on this important marijuana law reform legislation.
Update: Governor Scott and legislative leaders have agreed to a compromise depenalization measure. Lawmakers now need to gain two-thirds agreement among lawmakers in order to suspend House rules so that the issue can be further debated in this week’s special session.
Update: Lawmakers have sent a revised depenalization bill to Gov. Scott for his consideration during a special legislative session. The bill would eliminate criminal and civil penalities regarding the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and/or the cultivation of two mature plants. The bill also imposes civil fines for marijuana use while in a vehicle. 
Republican Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday, May 24, vetoed legislation, Senate Bill 22 that sought to eliminate criminal and civil penalties for the adult use and possession of marijuana. 
The Governor said that he did not support the legislation as written, but that remains open to working with lawmakers over the summer on ways to amend the state’s cannabis policies. Make sure that he does so. 
Please contact the Governor, as well as your members of the House and Senate, in support of a legislative compromise that will free responsible Vermont adults from the threat of criminal arrest or civil fines for possessing personal use amounts of marijuana.
Fifty-seven percent of Vermont voters support “allowing adults who are 21 or older to use, possess, and securely grow marijuana.” Please continue to urge lawmakers to implement the will of the people.

Governor Brian Sandoval vetoed legislation, Assembly Bill 259, that sought to allow minor marijuana offenders to vacate and seal their past convictions.
The measure stated: “If a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor for the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana in violation of subsection 4 of NRS 453.336 or for a violation of any other provision of law concerning an offense involving marijuana, if the act constituting such an offense is a lawful act in this State on or after January 1, 2017, the person may petition the court … for an order: (a) Vacating the judgment; and (b) Sealing all documents, papers and exhibits in the person’s record, minute book entries and entries on dockets, and other documents relating to the case in the custody of such other agencies and officers as are named in the court’s order.”
Members of the Assembly voted 27 to 15 in favor of the bill. Members of the Senate voted 12 to 9 in support of its passage.
Governor Sandoval vetoed the measure on June 12.

Update: The 2017 legislative session came to a close with lawmakers taking no further action on S3040A and A. 3506B. 
Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo) have introduced a substantially amended version of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) (Senate Bill S3040A/A. 3506B), which would reestablish a legal market for marijuana in New York and create a system to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol and the craft brewery industry for adults over the age of 21. 
Over the past twenty years, many New Yorkers have been negatively affected by the harms of prohibition in New York. With people of color accounting for nearly 85% of those arrested annually, the MRTA directs the benefits of taxing and regulating marijuana to these communities. Because structural racism is ingrained in marijuana prohibition, it’s important that the MRTA both ends marijuana prohibition and promotes racial justice.
Significant steps are taken in the amended MRTA to ensure racial justice and a small business-friendly industry, including:
● Creating a micro-licensing structure, similar to New York’s rapidly growing craft wine and beer industry, which allows small-scale production and sale plus delivery to reduce barriers to entry for people with less access to capital and traditional avenues of financing.
● Establishing the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund, which will invest in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the drug war through job training, economic empowerment, and youth development programming.
● Ensuring diversity in New York’s marijuana industry by removing barriers to access like capital requirements and building inclusivity by allowing licensing to people with prior drug convictions. Only people with business-related convictions (such as fraud or tax evasion) will be explicitly barred from receiving licenses.

Enter information below to contact your lawmakers and urge them to support this important legislation. 
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