MONTPELIER, Vt. (CBS News) — Gov. Phil Scott on Monday privately signed Vermont’s marijuana bill into law, making the state the first in the country to authorize the recreational use of the substance by an act of a state legislature. The law, which goes into effect July 1, allows adults to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, two mature and four immature plants.
Vermont will become the ninth state in the country, along with Washington, D.C, to approve the recreational use of marijuana. The other states and Washington authorized the recreational use of marijuana through a vote of residents.
Twenty-one additional states now allow sales of marijuana for medical use.
Vermont law contains no mechanism that allows for a citizen referendum.
The Republican governor had until the end of the day Monday to sign the bill. His office issued a statement Monday afternoon saying he had signed the bill.
“Today, with mixed emotions, I have signed [the legislation],” he said. “I personally believe that what adults do behind closed doors and on private property is their choice, so long as it does not negatively impact the health and safety of others, especially children.”
The law contains no mechanism for the taxation or sale of marijuana, although the Legislature is expected to develop such a system.
Vermont’s move is an incremental reform that will have little impact for most people in the state, said Matt Simon, New England political director for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.
“I think the vast majority of Vermonters won’t notice any change at all,” Simon said. “It’s simply eliminating a fine and eliminating a penalty for growing a small number of plants.”
The new law is unlikely to prompt people who don’t now smoke marijuana to take it up, said Robert Sand, a Vermont law school professor and former county prosecutor who has advocated for years to change the state’s drug laws.
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