Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Orleck, who is a retired pharmacist and lawyer. Her served as an assistant attorney general under Vermont Attorney General M. Jerome Diamond. He was also a prosecutor on Maui in the late 1960s and early 1970s prosecuting cases, many of which were drug related.
[T]he vote Jan. 4 legalizing marijuana makes one wonder what moves the actions and votes of politicians. If this vote was based on science, the result would have been different. Was it the will of the voter that led to that vote? Voters are like pawns in a chess game. They are in the game, but they are expendable and play only a small part in the outcome of the match. It is about money and the voter has little of that. If there are powerful moneyed interests dedicated to getting their way, what chance does the voter, even equipped with truth, have?
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 makes marijuana illegal to possess and the law has been tested and found to be constitutional. Seven medical organizations oppose legalization for good medical reasons. Law enforcement almost universally is opposed to H.511. Most educators are in opposition to laws that normalize, increase availability and use of this drug.
Whether H.511 becomes law is up to Gov. Phil Scott. Life and death are his with a signature. There are problems with this bill that should lead to another veto. The grow provision of H.511 allows for a limitless amount of marijuana to be stored and that puts children in direct risk. In an interview with VPR, he stated: “I haven’t spoken to the legislative leaders about what their intent is but I would suspect that they would either make some changes on the floor, send it back to committee, make some alterations, then we’ll see what they either add or delete and see if it’s the same as what I said, what I committed to pushing forth with.”
Democrat Rep. Cynthia Browning unsuccessfully offered an amendment to cap this amount to two pounds, which is equal to about 1,900 joints, but that was rejected. Even that amount would have been many times what a normal user would consume but the quantity that can be legally stored is unlimited. With the large excesses will come diversion, sale, robberies and more use by children. Bad as that is, if a person violates this provision and grows more illegally, the maximum fine is $100. Just a small cost of doing business and no deterrent effect.
The governor vetoed S.22 last session because “I’m not sure that the time is right.” The time is not right now. He wanted any legal marijuana system to address highway safety and protecting children from edible marijuana products. Those conditions have not been met so far and it is a wonder that he would let H.511 become law at this time.
What was the purpose of presenting part of the commission’s report on Jan. 15 if it was not intended to be a part of the consideration by the Legislature in addressing H.511? Aubree Adams came from Colorado for eight days to speak to the Legislature about the effect of legalization on her once wonderful town of Pueblo, but they refused to allow that. What would have been the harm to have the commission report and the testimony of Aubree? It could be that there was fear that the small difference in the votes might have been persuaded to go the other way.
We must remain hopeful that the governor still does not see this as his priority and he decides to make the lawmakers go back and take a look at those provisions that provide a threat to public safety that were not so evident even when he vetoed S.22. Maybe he will be persuaded that the agreement he made to support this bill has not been met in good faith and to the extent that he expected to alleviate his concerns.
This is a complex and dirty game dominated by political donations, vested interests, personal ambition, class and power. This whole matter is orchestrated to the point where even reasonable amendments were rejected so this could progress without interrupting the schedule of events. From the vote on the floor, to marijuana rally on Jan. 9 scheduled to concur with the final vote in the Senate so there would be cheerleaders there to bring home their “victory.” Almost like a reward given to the pro-pot industry for something, but surely not something good for the citizens. The next thing is for the problems with legalization to grow to the point where government will have to look for a way to cure them and, of course, they will want to cure it with providing more government. Government is always outsmarted by profit-motivated people and unless those people are upright and civic-minded, the end result is that evil claims more territory. While there is no appetite in the House now for commercialism, the industry is patient and will use this “foot in the door” to eventually bring us to that point. Then we will be just like Pueblo, Colorado, once the sixth most desirable city to live in and now families who once wanted to move in, including Aubree Adams’ family, now wish to leave.
