MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s House of Representatives has signed off on legislation that would allow adults 21 years old or older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow cannabis at their homes.
The legislation would make the Green Mountain State the latest to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The Burlington Free Press said the bill, approved Thursday night, would not create a legal market for marijuana and would not impose any taxes.
The measure will have to return to the Senate for another vote. Senate leaders have said a vote could come next week.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott has said he’d sign the legislation.
House lawmakers spent much of the day Thursday, with a break during Scott’s State of the State speech, debating the proposal, which was passed by the state Senate last June. The debate took place with the backdrop of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinding a policy that paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country.
Throughout the debate in the Statehouse, the full House rejected a series of Republican-proposed changes. The first proposal that was rejected would have delayed implementation of the law a year, until July 1, 2019. Other amendments focused on what the opponents of the underlying proposal said were ways to protect public safety.
But proponents said they felt those issues were addressed in the existing legislation.
It was expected House lawmakers would give final approval to slight changes to the original bill.
