Speaking to the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee, Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark gave compelling testimony at the today in favor of ending marijuana prohibition and regulating marijuana for adult use.

“By eliminating the prohibition on marijuana and the need to utilize funding for enforcing a failed policy, we as a state can focus on what is important,” said Clark, reading from a prepared statement on Thursday, Jan. 21. “We will have more resources and can focus on those whom are addicted to any substance, whether it is heroin, alcohol or marijuana. We can also put our efforts into educating our children in a more realistic way. Furthermore, we can be more effective in keeping our highways safe for all users.”

The conclusion of Sheriff Clark’s testimony was particularly moving:

“Not unlike Vermont’s change to allow gay marriage, there will be those who believe the change will only result in catastrophic outcomes,” he said. “When Vermont takes the bold step to legalize marijuana, I will be as proud as I was on the day I walked my daughter down the aisle when she married her wife.”

As reported at the Washington Post’s blog, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin called for the legislature to pass a responsible marijuana regulation bill in the 2016 session.

Senator Jeannette White (D-Putney) and Senator Joe Benning (R-Lyndonville) are sponsoring a bill that would end marijuana prohibition in Vermont in 2016. This Times-Argus article explains the details of the bill, which will have to be be worked on and further developed through the committee process after the legislative session begins January 5.

Vermont is studying the potential impacts of marijuana legalization and regulation, and now the state wants to hear from you!

This Wednesday, November 12 (2014), the state will hold a public hearing on the issue from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The hearing will be conducted by Vermont Interactive Technologies (VIT), allowing members of the public to testify remotely from sites in Bennington, Brattleboro, Middlebury, Montpelier, Newport, Randolph Center, Springfield, St. Albans, and Williston.

Need directions? Click here and select the site closest to you (Note: only 9 of the 17 sites will be holding the hearing, check the cities listed above).

This is a great opportunity for those of us who feel strongly about ending marijuana prohibition in Vermont! If you are interested in speaking in favor of ending marijuana prohibition, please contact Laura Subin, director of the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana, so she can help coordinate testimony.

Also, before you testify, we strongly recommend that you take time to read MPP’s “Effective Arguments for Advocates of Taxing and Regulating Marijuana.” Additionally, here’s a useful document with data showing that the roll-out of marijuana regulation has been successful in Colorado and Washington.

Although the Legislature does not convene until January, a successful hearing on Wednesday could help set the stage for a major legislative victory in 2015. Please share this message with your friends and family in the state. Thanks for your interest in this critically important issue!

Beginning this week, the Rand Corporation will send representatives to Vermont to work with the state’s Secretary of Administration on a study of the effects of taxing and regulating marijuana similarly to alcohol, the Manchester Journal reports.

This research was mandated by an amendment to a bill that made several improvements to Vermont’s medical marijuana law. Vermont will be funding the initial part of the study, paying Rand $20,000, with up to $100,000 in private donations coming from the non-profit organization GiveWell. Rand Corporation is a non-partisan organization with no official position on marijuana legalization.

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