Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) has vetoed legislation that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use, delivering a blow to legalization backers who hoped Vermont would be the next domino to fall.

Scott told reporters during a press conference Wednesday that he is not strictly opposed to legalization, but he said he would ask the legislature to make changes to the bill.

“I’m not philosophically opposed to ending the prohibition on marijuana,” Scott said, according to local news outlets.

Vermont legislators are unlikely to override Scott’s veto of the measure, which passed by only a narrow margin.

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Legalization advocates took solace in Scott’s comments, which they said could lead to a new bill as early as July.

“We are disappointed by the governor’s decision to veto this widely supported legislation, but we are very encouraged by the governor’s offer to work with legislators to pass a legalization bill during the summer veto session,” said Matt Simon, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Lawmakers have an opportunity to address the governor’s concerns and pass a revised bill this summer, and we are excited about its prospects.”

The Vermont legislature's passage of the bill was a landmark moment in the growing trend toward loosening marijuana laws. The state's lawmakers were the first in the nation to send a bill legalizing pot to a governor’s desk. The other eight states where marijuana is legal all passed their measures through citizen initiatives.

“The fact that a bill even ended up on the governor's desk signals a new phase of the marijuana legalization movement,” said Tom Angell, founder of the pro-legalization group Marijuana Majority. “Our momentum has now reached a point where the issue has become so popular with voters at the ballot box that more politicians are feeling comfortable enough to grapple with it themselves.”

Opponents of the legislation thanked Scott for killing the bill, but they said they worried about a possible follow-up.

“Our work is not over,” said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization. “We will be working very closely with our allies to make sure any piece of legislation does not allow Big Marijuana to come to Vermont.”

Scott said he wanted to see tougher penalties for illegal sales of marijuana to minors. He also wants to give regulators more time to study what has worked and what hasn’t in other states where marijuana has been legalized.

The bill as written would make possessing a small amount of marijuana legal by July 2018. Scott said he would ask legislators to give a state commission at least a year to study best practices before making its recommendations.</s>Vermont would have become the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana and the first to do so through the legislature rather than by a public vote. However, Phil Scott, the governor of Vermont, rejected the marijuana bill Wednesday as he wanted further changes in it, according to a press release. Scott, a Republican, told reporters he…</s>The Latest on Vermont's governor vetoing a marijuana legalization bill (all times local):

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is vetoing a bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state and is sending it back to the legislature with suggestions for changes.

The Republican governor said Wednesday he has concerns about public safety, children's health and how to measure impaired drivers. Scott suggested legislators could make changes to address those concerns in a veto session in June.

Scott is calling for more aggressive penalties for smoking pot while driving or using it in the presence of children.

Under the legislation, small amounts of marijuana would have been legal to possess and grow for anyone over age 21.

Had Scott signed the bill, Vermont would have become the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana. The District of Columbia has also legalized it.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says he won't sign a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana in the state and is instead sending it back to the legislature with suggestions for changes.

The Republican governor said Wednesday that changes could be made to the bill in a veto session this summer.

If Scott had decided to sign the bill, it would have made Vermont the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana. The District of Columbia has also legalized it.

The governor has previously said he's not philosophically opposed to marijuana legalization but has concerns about safety.

Under the legislation, small amounts of marijuana would have been legal to possess and grow for anyone over age 21.</s>(MONTPELIER, Vt.) — Republican Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday that he planned to veto a bill making Vermont the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana but indicated that he was willing to work with the legislature on a compromise.

Scott said he is sending the bill back with suggestions for another path forward and suggested that changes could be made to the bill in a special session this summer.

"We must get this right," Scott said. "I think we need to move a little bit slower."

The governor has said he's not philosophically opposed to marijuana legalization but has concerns about public safety, children's health and impaired drivers.

Under the legislation, small amounts of marijuana would have been legal to possess and grow for anyone over age 21.

Eight other states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational marijuana. Vermont would have been the first state to legalize marijuana by vote of a state legislative body. The other states and D.C. legalized marijuana after public referendums.

Studies by the Vermont Department of Health have found that Vermont has among the highest prevalence of marijuana use in the country and the second-highest use among people ages 12 to 25.

Proponents of marijuana legalization have said passage by the Democrat-majority legislature shows the inevitable expansion of marijuana legalization and the recognition by officials that it's better to regulate and tax the industry than to keep it underground.

Vermont's legislature passed the measure six months after residents in Massachusetts and Maine voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Both states are now developing mechanisms to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana. The New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Nearly 20 states have bills pending that would legalize adult-use marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The other eight states that have legalized marijuana have done so via citizen referendums, but Vermont does not have a legal mechanism to carry out such referendums.</s>Republican Gov. Phil Scott is vetoing legislation that would have made Vermont the ninth state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana, and the first to do so by an act of the Legislature, as opposed to a ballot initiative.

Opponents and supporters of the legalization effort had been waiting on tenterhooks since the bill arrived on the governor's desk last week. Scott has been non-committal about what he’d do with the bill, saying he’s “not ideologically opposed” to legalization, but that he has serious concerns about the impact of more permissive cannabis laws on highway safety.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Scott said concerns from medical professionals, law enforcement officials and other constituencies opposed to the bill convinced him that now is not the right time for Vermont to move forward with legalization.

The Vermont Association of Police Chiefs sent a letter to Scott on May 4, urging him to veto the legislation. Representatives of Vermont Medical Society, Vermont American Academy of Pediatrics and Vermont Children’s Hospital have also expressed concerns directly to the governor.

Scott’s decision extends a tumultuous legislative process for a bill that would have legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, and allowed for cultivation of up to two mature cannabis plants. The legislation would have taken effect in July of 2018.

The House and Senate had been split on what kind legalization framework is best for Vermont. The Senate favors a “tax and regulate” approach, with licensed growers and state-sanctioned retail outlets.

The House, meanwhile, supported a law similar to one in place in Washington, D.C., which removes all criminal and civil sanctions for possession of small amounts of marijuana, but leaves in place prohibitions against sales and large growing operations.

Until recently, it appeared the two chambers would be unable to resolve those competing philosophies this year. But a late-session compromise bill — it would have adopted the House framework, but created a commission to study a tax and regulate approach — won support in both chambers.

While the Senate might have the votes to override the governor’s veto, the same is not true in the House, which passed the bill by a vote of 79 to 66. The House needs 100 votes to override a veto.

Vermont would have joined Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Colorado, Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia as the only jurisdictions to have legalized recreational use of marijuana. Another 19 states have legalized medical marijuana.

This story will be updated.

Correction 12:51 p.m. The original version of this story incorrectly reported that Vermont would have been the seventh state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana. Vermont would have been the ninth.</s>MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) –Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is vetoing a bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state and is sending it back to the legislature with suggestions for changes.

The Republican governor said Wednesday he has concerns about public safety, children’s health and how to measure impaired drivers. Scott suggested legislators could make changes to address those concerns in a veto session in June.Scott is calling for more aggressive penalties for smoking pot while driving or using it in the presence of children.Under the legislation, small amounts of marijuana would have been legal to possess and grow for anyone over age 21.

Had Scott signed the bill, Vermont would have become the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana. The District of Columbia has also legalized it.</s>Vermont Governor Phil Scott has vetoed S. 22, legislation that would have legalized cannabis in the state for adults over the age of 21. The libertarian-leaning governor sent the law back to the legislature to develop clauses that further protect the health and safety of his constituents, he said in a press conference.

The proposed bill – which would have been the first to legalize cannabis through a legislative process rather than a ballot initiative – would have allowed adults to possess up to an ounce of weed, two mature plants and four immature plants. It also would have established a study commission to look at cannabis tax-and-regulate models in other states and make recommendations for how Vermont should set up its own market.

Though Scott said that he saw a "clear societal shift" on the issue, and reiterated his support for medical marijuana, he said that he was not convinced this bill went far enough to protect Vermonters from intoxicated drivers, and local children from being exposed to use of the drug. He announced that he was sending the bill back to the legislature with specific suggestions on how to amend it during the summer session.

"Despite the veto, this is a huge leap forward," said Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement released Wednesday. "The passage of S. 22 demonstrates most members of both legislative chambers are ready to move forward with making marijuana legal for adults. Lawmakers have an opportunity to address the governor’s concerns and pass a revised bill this summer, and we are excited about its prospects."



Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Vermont since 2004, when then-Governor James Douglas allowed a bill passed in the state legislature to become law without his signature. In 2013, Vermont decriminalized possession of one ounce or less of cannabis, but a May 2016 effort to fully legalize, tax and regulate it failed when the Vermont House voted against a Senate-passed plan.

According to a recent RAND corporation study, 80,000 Vermonters use cannabis regularly, while a separate Public Policy Polling survey of 755 registered Vermont voters found that 57 percent support legalization while only 39 were opposed. 



Maine and Massachusetts voted to legalize cannabis last November along with successful ballot initiatives in California and Nevada. Despite the continued shift in attitudes towards marijuana and America's larger drug policies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently threatened to go after the cannabis industry in legal states.</s>The governor of Vermont vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have legalized marijuana within the Green Mountain state.

Gov. Phil Scott, a first-time Republican, told reporters Wednesday that he’s rejecting a bill that would’ve made Vermont the ninth state in the nation with legal marijuana.

The bill — the first marijuana legalization measure in the country to be passed by a state legislature rather than a voter referendum — would have taken effect July 2018 had the governor not intervened before midnight tonight.

Mr. Scott said the bill lacked adequate safety measures and is sending it back to the legislature for a rewrite, according to reporters on hand at Wednesday’s press conference in Montpelier.

“We must get this right,” Mr. Scott said of legalizing marijuana, The Associated Press reported. “I think we need to move a little bit slower.”

The bill would have removed criminal and civil penalties for minor pot possession, let residents grow a limited number of marijuana plants and create a commission tasked with establishing a system for state-regulated cannabis sales. It passed the state Senate by a 21-9 vote last month and cleared the state House earlier this month 74-68.

Mr. Scott previously said he is “not philosophically opposed” to legalizing marijuana, but expressed reservations over the measure’s potential impact on highway safety and children’s health.

The governor may reverse course and legalize marijuana after all if the state Legislatures makes certain changes before June 21, Vermont Public Radio’s Peter Hirchfeld tweeted Wednesday afternoon. Otherwise lawmakers must wait until the next legislative sessions starts in January 2018 to introduce a new legal weed bill, WPTZ Burlington reported.

“It is disappointing that Gov. Scott would not only defy the will of of state legislators, but also the will of the majority of Vermont voters who support ending criminal penalties for those adults who consume cannabis responsibly,” said Justin Strekal, the political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, NORML. “Minor marijuana possession offenders should not be saddled with a criminal record and the lifelong penalties and stigma associated with it. Rather than looking to the future, Gov. Scott seems intent on repeating the failures of the past.”

Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-weed advocacy group, applauded the governor’s decision Wednesday and said it will fight any further legalization efforts waged by the Legislature.

“We will be working very closely with our allies to make sure any piece of legislation does not allow Big Marijuana to come to Vermont,” the organization told The Washington Times.

Eight states and the nation’s capital have passed laws since 2012 legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, and medical marijuana laws are currently on the books in 29 states and D.C., despite the federal government’s longstanding prohibition on pot.</s>Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, said on Wednesday he was vetoing a bill to legalize marijuana, and sending it back to the legislature for changes.

"We must get this right," Scott said in prepared remarks at a press conference today. "I think we need to move a little bit slower."

Though he said he views the issue "through a libertarian lens," Scott vetoed the bill due to concerns about detecting and penalizing impaired drivers, protecting children, and the role and makeup of a Marijuana Regulatory Commission.

The governor said he is "not philosophically opposed" to legalization, "and I recognize there is a clear societal shift in that direction." He said he'll send recommended changes to the the Democratic-majority legislature, and that if they address his concerns, "there is a path forward on this issue."

One point that the governor wants the commission to tackle is establishing "how impaired is too impaired," according to Rebecca Kelley, the governor's communications director, as well as exploring what devices might be effective in detecting that impairment. But as NPR's Tovia Smith has reported, police "do not yet have reliable roadside toxicology tests that can say for sure if someone's too high to drive in the way a breathalyzer or blood test can show if someone's too drunk."

Despite the illegality of its recreational use, the Vermont Department of Health found that the state has among the "highest prevalence of marijuana use" across all age groups, and the second highest of all states among those age 12 to 25. Recreational use of marijuana is currently legal in eight states and the District of Columbia.

If Vermont's bill had not been vetoed, it would have been the first state to legalize recreational marijuana via a legislative body, not a public referendum. In November, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voters legalized recreational pot; Arizona voters rejected it.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states have bills pending that would legalize marijuana for adults; more than half of states allow medical use of marijuana.

In Vermont, the bill's journey through the legislature shows the variety of approaches that states are considering. As Vermont Public Radio reports,

An editorial in today's New York Times praised Vermont's bill, calling it an "earthier, grow-it-yourself approach" that like D.C.'s law, "falls somewhere between criminalizing use of the drug and creating a market in which businesses have an incentive to encourage marijuana use."

"Prohibition has failed and causes approximately 100,000 Vermonters to be labeled lawbreakers," Zuckerman said, according to WPTZ, the NBC affiliate in Burlington. "Vermont is now lagging behind other states in the region and is missing opportunities to capture revenue from an underground market that would allow us to address highway safety, drug education and treatment, and other needed state investments to reduce the temptation of drug use."</s>Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, said on Wednesday he was vetoing a bill to legalize marijuana, and sending it back to the legislature for changes.

"We must get this right," Scott said in prepared remarks at a press conference today. "I think we need to move a little bit slower."

Though he said he views the issue "through a libertarian lens," Scott vetoed the bill due to concerns about detecting and penalizing impaired drivers, protecting children, and the role and makeup of a Marijuana Regulatory Commission.

The governor said he is "not philosophically opposed" to legalization, "and I recognize there is a clear societal shift in that direction." He said he'll send recommended changes to the the Democratic-majority legislature, and that if they address his concerns, "there is a path forward on this issue."

One point that the governor wants the commission to tackle is establishing "how impaired is too impaired," according to Rebecca Kelley, the governor's communications director, as well as exploring what devices might be effective in detecting that impairment. But as NPR's Tovia Smith has reported, police "do not yet have reliable roadside toxicology tests that can say for sure if someone's too high to drive in the way a breathalyzer or blood test can show if someone's too drunk."

Despite the illegality of its recreational use, the Vermont Department of Health found that the state has among the "highest prevalence of marijuana use" across all age groups, and the second highest of all states among those age 12 to 25. Recreational use of marijuana is currently legal in eight states and the District of Columbia.

If Vermont's bill had not been vetoed, it would have been the first state to legalize recreational marijuana via a legislative body, not a public referendum. In November, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voters legalized recreational pot; Arizona voters rejected it.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states have bills pending that would legalize marijuana for adults; more than half of states allow medical use of marijuana.

In Vermont, the bill's journey through the legislature shows the variety of approaches that states are considering. As Vermont Public Radio reports,



"The House and Senate had been split on what kind legalization framework is best for Vermont. The Senate favors a 'tax and regulate' approach, with licensed growers and state-sanctioned retail outlets. "The House, meanwhile, supported a law similar to one in place in Washington, D.C., which removes all criminal and civil sanctions for possession of small amounts of marijuana, but leaves in place prohibitions against sales and large growing operations. "Until recently, it appeared the two chambers would be unable to resolve those competing philosophies this year. But a late-session compromise bill — it would have adopted the House framework, but created a commission to study a tax and regulate approach — won support in both chambers."



An editorial in today's New York Times praised Vermont's bill, calling it an "earthier, grow-it-yourself approach" that like D.C.'s law, "falls somewhere between criminalizing use of the drug and creating a market in which businesses have an incentive to encourage marijuana use."

"Prohibition has failed and causes approximately 100,000 Vermonters to be labeled lawbreakers," Zuckerman said, according to WPTZ, the NBC affiliate in Burlington. "Vermont is now lagging behind other states in the region and is missing opportunities to capture revenue from an underground market that would allow us to address highway safety, drug education and treatment, and other needed state investments to reduce the temptation of drug use."
Vermont governor Phil Scott vetoes a bill legalizing marijuana in the state.