Supporters of a retail cannabis market in Vermont have a powerful new ally in their corner, as the Vermont Democratic Party has formally endorsed the creation of a taxed-and-regulated system for marijuana sales.
Members of the Vermont Democratic Party added the language to their party platform at a meeting on Sunday.
Party Chairman Terje Anderson said he hopes the vote will help set the stage for a broader debate about drug policy in Vermont.
But House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski said the fate of a tax-and-regulate bill during the next legislative session hinges primarily on the choices voters make in November.
"And if they are electing candidates who support continuing to go down the road of expanding access and looking at a taxed-and-regulated system," Krowinski said.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed a marijuana legalization bill into law earlier this year. But that statute allows only for possession and cultivation of small amounts of the drug.
Late last legislative session, an effort to pass a bill that would create a legal retail cannabis market ultimately didn't go anywhere.
Earlier this summer, the VPR - Vermont PBS Poll found that 56 percent of Vermonters surveyed support implementing the retail sale of marijuana for personal use in the state; 31 percent of respondents said Vermont should not allow the retail sale of marijuana for personal use.
