This year, several states all across the country are looking to legalize and, in turn, rake in millions of dollars in tax revenue.
Even with the Trump administration’s announcement last week that it would scrap an Obama-era policy offering legal shelter for state-sanctioned marijuana sales, organizers and lawmakers are forging forward with legalization efforts.
Here are some of those states:
Vermont
This month the state is poised to make history, becoming the first to legalize through a legislative measure and not a state-approved ballot initiative.
Last week, lawmakers in the Vermont House of Representatives passed H.511. The bill allows individuals to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to two mature plants. The Senate is set to vote on it in the coming days, where supporters have said they have enough votes for its passage.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott indicated last month he would sign the legislation if it arrives on his desk.
Matt Simon, New England director for the Marijuana Policy Project, a group dedicated to ending cannabis prohibition nationwide, said it was an important step for the state where polls have shown that voters support legalization.
“We applaud lawmakers for heeding the calls of their constituents and taking this important step toward treating marijuana more like alcohol,” Simon said.
Rhode Island
Last year, lawmakers in Rhode Island debated a bill that would legalize pot. It was the third time in three years that state Sen. Josh Miller, a Democrat from the Providence area, introduced a pot legalization bill. Although it died in a committee, supporters remained undeterred.
A commission was formed last year to look into best practices for legalization and another bill is expected to be debated this legislative session. Supporters in the state say it is missing out on tax dollars that are being raked in by other New England states such as Massachusetts and Maine that have recently legalized.
In recent months, members of the commission have visited with Colorado officials to learn about how they implemented legal sales.
