I would like to congratulate the mayor of Rutland on his swift action on behalf of the people of his city. It has become obvious that violent organized drug crime is making Rutland County a scary place to live. The level of the violence that has happened in the county over the last two years is unprecedented in this county. The state of Vermont and the federal government cannot expect the Rutland City Police Department, or the small local police departments, to foot the bill and provide the resources to stop or even slow the influx of organized crime coming from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and parts beyond. Rutland City just by the nature of its location as a city located on the major east-west corridor, between New York and Maine, and the north south corridor between Montreal and major cities in southern New England, makes it the ideal area to set up distribution points for the drug cartels. This county and this city need support from the governments beyond our own local governments.

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I strongly agree, the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis (kaneh bosm marijuana) should be "legal completely" (Burlington Says 'Nope' To Dope, Jan. 29, 2008) and one reason that doesn't get mentioned is because it is biblically correct according to Christ God Our Father.

The Ecologician indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page.

The only biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5).

Respectfully,

Stan White

Dillon, CO

[end]

MONTPELIER -- Those who wanted marijuana legalized didn't get their way Thursday. Neither did those who wanted the Senate Judiciary Committee to leave the marijuana possession laws alone.

The committee voted 4-1 to tweak the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. No longer would jail time be an option for those caught with an ounce or less. Instead, all such offenders would be eligible for court diversion, a process by which their criminal record could be erased.

"I know a lot of people wanted decriminalization. We're not going to do that," said Sen. Richard Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "This is better than decriminalization."

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It was a mixed day for the cannabis plant in Montpelier Thursday.

The Vermont House of Representatives came one step closer to passing a bill that would legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp, though the state law would have no practical effect unless a federal ban is repealed.

The Senate Judiciary committee, meanwhile, voted 4-1 in favor of a bill that would decrease some penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana -- though the committee sawed most of the teeth off the original, wide-ranging decriminalization bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham.

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MONTPELIER -- In the past couple weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee has listened to hours of testimony about decriminalizing marijuana.

They've heard some people say the state is consuming valuable law enforcement time pursuing users of a harmless drug who should not be branded as criminals.

They've heard others counter all those arguments.

Committee Chairman Richard Sears, D-Bennington, emerged from testimony Friday thinking he's not inclined to decriminalize marijuana, as the proposed legislation that launched the debate would do. He would, however, support eliminating jail time as a possibility for first-time possession of 2 ounces or less and allowing all such defendants to go through court diversion and receive no criminal record.

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The Clover Leaf Is More Than A Good Luck Symbol For Some These Days.

That image, along with others like kittens and the Adidas logo, have been misappropriated by illicit drug manufacturers in Canada. The colored branding images are used to popularize a new drug being exported into the United States: Ecstasy mixed with methamphetamine.

The powders of the two drugs are pressed into pill form and smuggled across the U.S. border, according to law enforcement officials. Approximately 2 million tablets a week are manufactured in Canada, federal authorities say.

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MONTPELIER -- A controversial plant moved through the Statehouse without much controversy Wednesday.

Lawmakers in the House Agriculture Committee unanimously approved a bill that would allow Vermont farmers to grow hemp, a benign cousin of marijuana that boasts a variety of industrial applications.

A federal statute criminalizing the plant supercedes Vermont's legislation, so Green Mountain hemp won't go to sprout anytime soon. But advocates of the hemp bill say it positions local farmers to capitalize on the potentially profitable crop if and when the Drug Enforcement Administration finally relents.

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The Burlington City Council voted last Tuesday against the ballot question that would decriminalize small quantities of marijuana possession locally.

Backed by councilmen Ed Adrian and Timothy Ashe, the proposal failed 7-6, which means it will not be brought to voters for the Town Meeting Day elections in March.

The measure was initially introduced as a local topic, then divided to allow the legislature to consider the issue. "It could come up again," Adrian said.

"We got a commitment from the council to entertain a discussion, on the local level, on how we might come up with other options, other than the criminal justice system." Ashe said. "The council did not want to go to the voters because they feel [that] the state is going to take up the discussion."

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Interest in reform of the state's marijuana laws drew a sizable crowd to a Senate hearing last week, suggesting widespread dissatisfaction with current policy. But as they address the issue, senators ought to view it less as a cultural litmus test than as one piece of a larger review of state corrections and criminal justice policy.

At one end of the debate are the marijuana advocates who decry the failure of "prohibition" and defend the unalienable right to get high. That is not what this debate is about.

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Inside the Statehouse, mounted to a wall in the House Agriculture Committee room, is a World War II-era poster asking patriotic citizens to "Grow Hemp for the War."

The framed relic harkens back to a time when hemp flourished as one of the country's premier agricultural commodities. Thomas Jefferson himself called hemp a "first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country." The first two drafts of the U.S. Constitution were penned on hemp paper.

Hemp's reputation has since fallen on hard times. A victim of guilt by genetic association, hemp was outlawed after World War II in an effort to clamp down on its psychotropic cousin, marijuana.

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The Burlington City Council narrowly defeated a watered-down ballot question on decriminalization of marijuana that would have asked the governor and Legislature "to explore an alternative to the criminal system for dealing with small quantities of marijuana."

The measure, sponsored by Ed Adrian, D-Ward 1, and Tim Ashe, P-Ward 3, failed 7-6 in a vote late Tuesday night.

Those supporting the resolution were: Adrian; Ashe; Clarence Davis, P-Ward 3; Russ Ellis, D-Ward 4; Joan Shannon, D-Ward 5; and Andy Montroll, D-Ward 6.

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Senate Panel To Consider Drug Issues

MONTPELIER -- What Dr. Kathleen Daye really wants is for Vermont to legalize marijuana. She'll take it one step at a time, though, and travel to the Statehouse on Wednesday to urge legislators to decriminalize possession of the drug.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday evening of two pieces of legislation -- one that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and one that would toughen penalties for trafficking heroin and cocaine.

"I think both are public policy issues that ought to be explored," said committee Chairman Richard Sears, D-Bennington.

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Thank you for publishing Attorneys Robert Sand's and Daniel Sedon's very thoughtful essays in the Sunday Perspective section Jan. 6 on the serious legal and social harm resulting from marijuana prohibition.

I am writing to encourage continued discussion and to add a few points. First, as a doctor, I know that marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive medication. It relieves nausea and pain. It is not addictive.

There is no risk of death by overdose. Marijuana's effects on mental processes are temporary. It does not cause brain damage.

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Before the "Let's decriminalize marijuana" train leaves the station here in Vermont, I think that legislators and others should think about the potential impact on Vermont should we declare marijuana to be legal or decriminalized.

Advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana have argued that we are losing the war on drugs. They argue that the jails are being filled with these minor offenders and that our resources are not being used wisely. As a prosecutor of 30 years I can unequivocally state that such claims are extreme exaggerations or outright lies. These advocates cannot show me a case in Vermont where a person went to jail solely for the possession of a small amount of pot. I have sent hundreds of people to diversion for such an offense. In diversion they are asked to do some counseling and community service in exchange for their case being dismissed.

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MONTPELIER - Senate lawmakers will consider a bill making it a civil, not criminal, offense to possess small amounts of marijuana. At the same time, they will also look at a second bill increasing the penalties for possessing heroin and cocaine by reducing the amount possessed that constitutes "trafficking."

The moves come following months of public debate on the efficacy and social and fiscal costs of Vermont's drug policies and whether it makes sense to decriminalize marijuana.

Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, has scheduled a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the evening of Jan. 23 to hear from members of the public who have concerns about Vermont's drug policies.

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Consider this. In your right hand you hold green, dried plant material, an illegal drug believed by many to be highly dangerous, a gateway to even more pernicious substances, a drug not suitable for alternative court processes, and one that needs a strong, punitive, criminal justice response.

In your left hand you hold green, dried plant material ingested by many, recognized by state legislatures for its medicinal value, suitable for court diversion and appropriate for humor (recall how two state officials described a large quantity of marijuana as enough to keep a UVM fraternity happy for a year and then some).

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WHY IS POT CULTIVATION FOR PERSONAL USE ILLEGAL?

Now that the governor and Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand have essentially agreed to disagree about marijuana prosecutions in Windsor County, perhaps the time is right to toss out a much more fundamental question: Why is marijuana cultivation for personal use illegal at all? Specifically, why can't responsible, tax-paying, adult citizens of this state grow marijuana for their own use on their own property if they wish to? I realize this will strike some as a naive question and leave others spluttering mad, but in the end there really is no good, much less constitutional, reason for this conduct being prohibited.

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Now that the governor and Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand have essentially agreed to disagree about marijuana prosecutions in Windsor County, perhaps the time is right to toss out a much more fundamental question: Why is marijuana cultivation for personal use illegal at all? Specifically, why can't responsible, tax-paying, adult citizens of this state grow marijuana for their own use on their own property if they wish to? I realize this will strike some as a naive question and leave others spluttering mad, but in the end there really is no good, much less constitutional, reason for this conduct being prohibited. It's helpful to first review a recent controversy: Martha Davis, a 61-year-old attorney and part-time judge from Windsor, was found in possession of growing implements and a sizeable quantity of marijuana. Her case was sent to Court Diversion, a community-based program that allows people who have never been in trouble before to avoid a criminal conviction by taking responsibility for their offense and making reparations to the victim and the community.

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We lost the so called "War on Drugs" a long time ago and it's time to introduce a little common sense. Gov. Jim Douglas' spat with Windsor County prosecutor Robert Sand brought this issue to our attention just recently. I think that the Vermont Lottery does more harm to Vermont citizens than smoking marijuana. The Lottery Commissioner always shouts, "Please play responsibly!" while he and his staff are dreaming up more games to fleece those people who can least afford to lose the money.

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When the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted recently to allow retroactive reconsideration of some drug convictions, it was wisely chipping away at the edifice of injustice put in place as part of the nation's war on drugs.

The commission is the federal agency that sets sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. The commission is part of the judicial branch, but its actions are not immune to the pressures and constraints of politics. Its members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and if the guidelines it promulgates clash too dramatically with the preferred policies of the administration in power or of the party in control of Congress, commission members could feel the heat.

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