One More State Considers Mj Decriminalization

[greenbuddha]

Vermont House Considers MJ Decriminalization Posted by CN Staff on March 30, 2013 at 06:14:16 PT

By Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff Writer

Source: Burlington Free Press

 

Montpelier, Vermont -- The marijuana samples were discreetly tucked into a Manila envelope. Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn didn’t ask for them to be brought out until the end of his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee and said he couldn’t pass them around.

Marijuana is illegal, Flynn noted, so he had to be discreet, but he wanted the committee to see what 1 and 2 ounces looked like as legislators consider decriminalizing small amounts. The definition of a “small amount” matters, Flynn said. He said he supports decriminalization, but 2 ounces is too much.

 

 

“I think 1 ounce is more appropriate,” Flynn told the committee.

The bill that the committee is considering, H.200, calls for decriminalizing 2 ounces or less, making it a civil offense with a $100 fine. Committee Chairman Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, said Flynn’s wariness over the quantity matters to him and that will be a key topic of discussion in the next week or so.

Lippert said, however, that he thinks there is strong support in the committee and the Legislature for decriminalization and he expects the committee to vote out a bill within the next couple weeks.

Lippert said he plans a full day of testimony Wednesday. The bill has legislative leaders’ approval to move forward even though it has missed the “crossover” deadline to go from one chamber to the other. House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown, who had been leery of the legislation, said this week that he wouldn’t stand in its way if has support from legislators.

In committee Thursday morning, State Police Lt. Matthew Birmingham held up two plastic bags, one with 1 ounce and the other with 2 ounces.

Birmingham, commander of the Vermont Drug Task Force, later said 1 ounce has a street value ranging from $100 to $250 and can produce somewhere in the range of 50 to 120 marijuana cigarettes. Both figures are hard to peg, he said, because street value varies as does the size of joints.

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Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/6UR89Ud2

Source: Burlington Free Press (VT)

Author: Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff Writer

Published: March 29, 2013

Copyright: 2013 Burlington Free Press

Contact: letters@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Website: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/

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[Chauncy Gardner]

For Chrissakes. What does it matter if someone can legally possess 1 oz. or 2 ozs.? Is it really that important? I can imagine some anal police weighing the bag and busting someone because they have 1 gram over 1 oz. And you know they will do it too. It is going to take a while for the police to get over their feelings of rejection over cannabis.