Gov. Peter Shumlin made it into the Rolling Stone but not for his Beatles cover. The magazine has identified Shumlin as one of the top 10 “Best Politicians on Pot Reform.” It cites Shumlin’s decision to authorize a bill that allows four medical marijuana dispensaries to set up shop in Vermont and his participation in a petition asking the Drug Enforcement Agency to classify marijuana as a “Schedule 2” drug rather than a “Schedule 1” one. (“Schedule 1” drugs are illegal; “Schedule 2” refers to prescription drugs.)
Shumlin has received his fair share of both flak and praise for his stance on decriminalization, and marijuana has emerged several times as an issue on the campaign trail.
His Republican challenger, Randy Brock, has been especially vocal in his criticism of Shumlin’s mellow stance on the substance. At a press conference yesterday, Brock discussed moment during the most recent gubernatorial debate, hosted by Vermont Public Television, in which Shumlin not only acknowledged that he had used marijuana but that his daughters have as well.
Shumlin said, “… as parents of two daughters and as parents of kids who do smoke marijuana, as I did when I was that age and as other kids will, do we really want those kids to have a criminal record …”
Brock said he was a bit taken aback by the admission: “… the fact that she [Shumlin’s daughter] smokes marijuana would be announced by her father on public television to a statewide audience, that’s what I found surprising.”
Brock also bashed Shumlin when the governor received a campaign donation from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a national organization advocating for legalization of marijuana. NORML’s executive director called Shumlin a “standout” candidate and said he views the governor as the officeholder most sympathetic to their stance since Jimmy Carter. (As Georgia’s governor, Carter expressed support for the decriminalization of marijuana.)
We should note that this isn’t Shumlin’s first appearance in Rollling Stone — in January 2012, the magazine featured him in a photo series called “The Quiet Ones: 12 Leaders Who Get Things Done.”
Rolling Stone identified the governor’s response to Hurricane Irene and his role in passing single-payer health care legislation as major accomplishments.
