Mark your calendar for a panel discussion December 5 and a state house advocacy day on January 9 — then write your representatives and tell them Vermont urgently needs to begin regulating cannabis in early 2020! The Vermont House of Representatives missed an important opportunity when it adjourned in May without taking action on S. 54, the bill that would legalize and regulate cannabis sales in Vermont. Fortunately, House leaders have said the bill — which has already passed the Senate 23-5 — will…

Legislative leaders in Montpelier are describing last week’s victory in Massachusetts as a “game changer” for Vermont. This week, Sen. Dick Sears, chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, told a VPR reporter, “For me, that’s a game-changer, that Massachusetts has voted to legalize.” Rep. Maxine Grad, chair of the equally powerful House Judiciary Committee, agreed and said she thought the House would be much more amenable to ending marijuana prohibition now that legalization is definitely…