Vermont Could Be The Next State To Legalize Marijuana, So Throw On Heady Phish Jams & Grab A Pint Of Ben And Jerrys

Vermont is a magical place. It’s easily the headiest state in the Northeast, both the birthplace of Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream and my favorite band in the world, Phish. Granola co-ops and organic diary farms are more prevalent than 7-11s. The state’s mountains are a sanctuary for those of us in the 1-95 Megalopolis when we need to flee the ennui of urban/suburban life and get some hiking and skiing in our lives. Long Trail Beer rules, Magic Hat rules, Heady Topper rules, Woodchuck is meh and oatmeal drenched in maple syrup rules. I fucking love Vermont.

As if you need another reason to love Vermont, their is a slight chance Vermont is about to get much, much headier. The state could be the next to legalize recreational marijuana thanks to a bill introduced into the state legislature. Marijuana has been decriminalized in VT since 2013. If the bill is passed, this will be the first time marijuana has been legalized via state legislature vs. Election Day ballot referendum, which is how it was pushed through in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and D.C.. Via the Huffington Post:

Senate Bill 95 would legalize the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana in the state for those 21 and older. Adult residents could possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to nine plants (two mature, seven immature) for personal use, including any additional marijuana produced by those plants. Personal cultivation would be limited to secure indoor facilities.

Non-residents could also enjoy the new laws, legally purchasing up to one-quarter of an ounce of marijuana from a licensed retail shop.

The bill also proposes an excise tax of $40 per ounce of marijuana flower, $15 per ounce of any other marijuana product and a $25 tax on each immature cannabis plant sold by a cultivator

Forty percent of revenue brought in through marijuana taxation would be earmarked for substance abuse treatment services; public education programs about the risks of using various drugs; law enforcement; and academic and medical research on the plant.

Marijuana would remain banned from being smoked in public.

Sen. David Zuckerman, sponsor of the bill and member of the state’s Progressive party, told The Huffington Post that he’s pursuing legalization because it’s simply a more rational approach to a substance that is in such widespread use today.

“One can experiment with alcohol, as many do, and use marijuana, as many do, and turn out to be a positive and productive member of our society,” Zuckerman said. “Certainly, I’ve not hidden the fact that I recreationally used while I was in college, and yet I turned out to be a productive business person.”

Medical marijuana has been legal in Vermont for more than a decade, and Zuckerman says that experience has led to years of “thoughtful dialogue” that has helped inform state lawmakers substantially on the issue of expanding into recreational legalization. But Zuckerman said that while a vote to legalize could take place as early as this year, he expects discussion of the bill could push the vote to 2016.

The vote on the bill could be later this year or in early 2016. A similar bill was just introduced in Maryland, which is obviously a much less heady state than the Green Mountain State.

Set the gear shift to the high gear of your soul and get ready for those trips to all your stoner high school friends who went to UVM and never left Burlington after graduating.

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com