Vermon to Legalize Pot or Not?

Author: Kate Doorley

Do you think marijuana should be legal? Recently, Vermont has been asking itself this very question, and members of the Vermont legislature are coming up with an answer - yes. The state government is currently in the process of drafting legislation which would legalize marijuana in Vermont.

Last spring, the Vermont Senate passed a bill which legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and a similar bill is now before the State House of Representatives. Although this legislation has been drafted, it is uncertain whether it will pass, since there is significant opposition to the bill in both the House and in the Gov. Jim Douglas' office.

Likewise, there is both support and opposition for the legalization of marijuana throughout the country. Over 70 million people in the United States have tried marijuana at least once in their lives, which makes it one of the nation's most commonly used drugs. In most states, however, marijuana remains an illegal substance. Nationwide, there are only eight states, most prominently California, which already have medical marijuana laws.

Vermont currently has what is known as a pseudo-prescriptive marijuana law. Under this law, Vermonters are allowed to possess marijuana if they have obtained the drug directly from a valid prescription. Federal law, however, prohibits any drug store or pharmacy from supplying marijuana, thus negating the current Vermont law.

Supporters of medical marijuana claim that the drug can be beneficial to people suffering from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and chronic pain. The Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., that is behind the current legalization efforts in Vermont, asks, "Doctors are allowed to prescribe cocaine, morphine and methamphetamines, why not marijuana?"

Nationally, there is a strong support for medical marijuana. According to a Pew Poll compiled between February 14 and 19, 2001, 73 percent of American adults supported medical marijuana use. Here at Middlebury College, there is also a good deal of support for legalizing marijuana. One student argued, "If it furthers a doctor's ability to treat his patients, then doctors should be allowed to have the use of that substance."

Opponents of the proposed legislation, however, argue that the risks of prolonged marijuana use are still unknown, that marijuana in its common market state is too impure to use as medication and that the side effects outweigh the potential benefits. They also claim that legalizing marijuana for medicinal use simply opens the gateway to legalization of marijuana in general, which can lead to more serious drug use.

The medical community has also expressed concern about the medical uses of the drug. Mark Peluso, medical doctor of the Parton Health Center, said, "There are risks and benefits to every clinical situation and intervention. Side effects of interventions should be weighed against the proposed benefits, and patients should be given unbiased information from which they can make informed choices." Peluso also noted the many dangerous side effects of marijuana, including impaired behavior, lung damage and addiction. "Clearly," he pointed out, "it is not a benign drug."

While taking these criticisms into account, the members of the Vermont Senate still passed the Senate bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Senator Claire Ayer, D-Addison County, was one of the sponsors of the Senate bill, which passed by a vote of 22-7.

She explained her position by saying, "I feel that the legislation gives enough medical and legal structure to make it a reasonable, safe, compassionate way to ease suffering. It's a shame to make sick and suffering folks into violators of the law at a time when we dispense so many other potentially dangerous medications in confidence that they will be used properly and without danger to society."

Whether the bill passes will be determined by how many House representatives agree with Ayer's argument. Even if it does pass in the House, the bill still faces an uphill climb. Douglas has already vowed to veto the bill should it reach his desk. According to the 2003 Legislative Report of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, much of the opposition in Montpelier is based on the fact that using medical marijuana, even if it were legal in Vermont, would still be illegal under federal law. Additionally, there are currently other drugs available to treat many of the symptoms that marijuana would be used to treat.

On the other hand, a recent relaxation of drug laws in other states and in Canada, along with an increase in public support for such legislation, may indicate that the tides could change. As a result, Vermont may very well soon become the ninth state in the country with legalized medical marijuana policies.