Vermont House Speaker Announces Support for Legalizing Cannabis

Vermont House Speaker Announces Support for Legalizing Cannabis

Vermont Speaker of the House Shap Smith has announced that he’s in favor of moving forward legislation to legalize recreational cannabis.

“It’s clear to me in my discussions with Vermonters that in general, the people in this state probably favor legalization,” Smith said on VPR’s Vermont Edition. “And I certainly believe that we can legalize marijuana if we do it right … we’ve seen what has happened in Colorado and Washington, and we can learn from their experiences.”

Smith continues; “I will support a bill to legalize marijuana if we make sure that we have very strong protections for people who are driving under the influence, to make sure that we can prosecute them.. and as long as we make sure that we have laws that keep marijuana out of the hands of kids.”

According to polling released last year, 57% of Vermont voters support legalizing cannabis, as does Vermont Governor Peter Schumlin.

– TheJointBlog