Vermont’s legislature sent a recreational marijuana legalization bill to Governor Scott May 18, 2017. Four days later, Scott vetoed the bill, noting concerns with drugged driving and access to marijuana by children. He nevertheless invited the legislature to work with him to craft a version the bill that he could sign. The legislature is scheduled to consider overriding the veto in a special session later in June. The results are uncertain at this time, so concerned citizens on both sides of the issue are speaking out in an attempt to influence the outcome.
DUID Victim Voices was asked to supply an op-ed on the matter, which was published in VTDigger, a non-profit daily journal in Vermont.
Our position was that no state should legalize and commercialize any mind-altering drug without first having the means in place to deal with its potential consequences on drug-impaired driving.
The comments posted to our op-ed, available by following the above link, reveal the passion on both sides of the argument that marijuana legalization has unleashed. It seems to us that the pro-legalization side is relying on name-calling and slogans, whereas the anti-legalization side is relying on reason, but that’s obviously a biased point of view. Read the comments and make up your own mind.