BRATTLEBORO — As it should be, there is an overriding concern for safety issues as the marijuana legalization snail bill creeps through the byzantine loops of the legislature - so much so that the safety issues are secure, but the legalization bill is in danger of dying until further notice.
Yet, just a stone's throw away from Montpelier, we are witnessing the nation of Canada in the process of legalizing marijuana. Note that I said “nation,” not “province” or “state.”
It makes you wonder just how unsafe an activity adult use of marijuana really is and the extent to which it should be criminal.
There are a lot of questions concerning legalizing marijuana, but those are not necessarily the ones being asked now. What in anybody's god's name do the forces in Montpelier arrayed against marijuana think?
Do they really believe that adult Vermonters, after more than 50 years of draconian marijuana laws, will suddenly run amok and turn into killer drivers and sell or give it to children when it becomes legal?
How long will they continue to treat Vermont adults like children in order to “protect” the children?
And, if legislators have so little respect for their constituents, what makes them think they are qualified to represent the majority of responsible people in Vermont who are the best part of us?