Could This Neighboring State Legalize Marijuana This Year?

Could Vermont be one of the next states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana?

The Burlington Free Press reports that the state's Senate Finance Committee approved marijuana legalization on Friday.

The vote comes only two weeks after the bill cleared the Vermont Senate Judiciary. This will now move the issue closer to the Senate floor.

Some marijuana advocates took issue with the judiciary's proposal when state senators took out the option of homegrown marijuana. Some senators wanted a commission to conduct further studies on the overall effects of marijuana.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has called for the legalization of marijuana. Governor Shumlin said, "The outdated War on Drugs has also failed, and there is no greater example than our nation’s marijuana laws". 

The Times Argus reports that this year is the first that the Vermont Police Academy K-9 class had marijuana excluded from their training. Many say this is an anticipatory move that the state will soon legalize.

Vermont decriminalized marijuana in 2013.