Cannabis: Basic Needs Not Being Addressed By Cannabis Control Board or VT Legislature

The Basic Needs of Farms, Small Businesses, Medical Patients, and Communities Disproportionately Impacted by the Criminalization of Cannabis are not being Addressed by the VT Legislature or Cannabis Control Board.

The legislature has the ability to take action right now to address clear and present inequities and negative impacts occurring in the cannabis marketplace for farmers and others.  Tell policymakers on the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs that they need to take action this session on our coalition’s priorities by including them in H.270 and by inviting impacted community members and the member-based advocacy organizations in our coalition into the committee to represent themselves and their needs.  We currently have a regulated market in which producers of the crop have no direct market access to the user of the product, in which farmers and outdoor producers face substantial barriers to participating in the market (from municipal regulation and current use, to federal law related to land trusts and programs like NRCS), and in which there is no tax revenue from this economy going towards addressing the impacts of criminalization and disproportionate enforcement in our communities (among other things).

There is harm actively occurring that can be stopped with statutory change.  Many farms and small businesses will lose their investments, livelihoods, and ability to operate this year without an improvement and extension of the exemptions provided to Tier 1 Outdoor Cultivators in Act 158 to all Tiers and types of Outdoor Cultivation license. These exemptions allow this scale of cultivation to be treated in the same manner as farming when it comes to development, municipal regulation, taxation and current use status.  Right now, there are new and existing operations which are dealing with unreasonable and potentially illegal restrictions and processes being enacted at the municipal level which will make it not feasible for them to operate and the Cannabis Control Board has said it is powerless to provide them legal support or advice.    

Contact Graham@ruralvermont.org for more information.