Lola Duffort

As passed out of the Senate, the bill would ban all use and sale of the herbicide after 2030 in Vermont. Farmers would be able to use paraquat until then, but only with special permission from the state.

Overdose deaths in Vermont plummeted by 25% in 2025 compared to the year prior, according to preliminary data state health officials released Thursday.

Regulators believe a little-known federal rule is costing some Vermonters on Medicare tens of millions of dollars a year.

Vermont is following in the footsteps of a small handful of states who have expanded prescribing authority, which is typically reserved for psychiatrists, in hopes of alleviating provider shortages.

Officials plan to put over 900,000 doses in bait they'll distribute across 10 counties in Vermont. Workers in early May will drop the bait from low-flying aircraft in rural areas, and place it by hand in more densely-populated places.

There have been significant advancements in treatments to help patients manage the disorder in recent years. But one form of the disease has proved the toughest to find therapies for.

A growing number of Vermont's primary care providers are shrinking their practices and charging membership fees. Concierge practices offer providers a break from burnout — but leave many patients behind.

Legislation that would ban the use of paraquat, a fast-acting and highly toxic herbicide that studies have linked to Parkinson’s disease, easily passed the Vermont House last month. But H.739 now faces a chillier reception in the Senate.

Last year, in the wake of controversial, patient-facing cuts at the University of Vermont Health network, lawmakers passed a new law. They said regulators would get to intervene if they didn’t think hospitals should shutter a service. But now, barely a year later, lawmakers are already second-guessing that decision.

Advocates for LGBTQ people and the state’s top law enforcement official argue Vermont may still be able to regulate the practice, which generally refers to treatments that attempt to “cure” individuals of same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria.