The Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana will begin airing a new television ad statewide on Tuesday, just as members of the Vermont House of Representatives are preparing to vote on a bill that would end marijuana prohibition.
Thirty- and 60-second versions of the ad, titled “Vermont Is Ready,” will appear throughout the week on WCAX, WPTZ, and a variety of cable stations. Both versions of the ad can be viewed online at https://bit.ly/1qicp4i.
The ad features a diverse group of Vermonters saying, “It’s time” to end marijuana prohibition and “Vermont is ready” to regulate marijuana for adult use. One woman says, “It’s time for marijuana sales to take place in regulated businesses,” and another says, “It’s time to stop punishing adults for using a less harmful substance than alcohol.” Dr. Joseph McSherry, a Richmond neurologist, says, “It’s time to create rules for testing and labeling marijuana so that consumers can know what they’re getting.”
The ad ends with a young woman urging viewers to contact their state representatives and ask them to support S. 241, which would end prohibition and regulate marijuana in Vermont.
The House Committee on Judiciary is expected to vote on S. 241 as early as Friday. The Senate approved the bill on February 25. Gov. Peter Shumlin, Attorney General William Sorrell, and two former attorneys general have expressed support for the measure.
“Poll after poll finds most Vermonters are ready to end marijuana prohibition and start regulating marijuana,” said Matt Simon, the Montpelier-based New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which produced the ad on behalf of the Vermont coalition. “The ad puts some faces to those survey results. There are a lot of folks out there who support this legislation, and we want them to reach out to their representatives and let them know.”
In February, Vermont Public Radio released the results of a poll conducted by the Castleton Polling Institute that found 55% of Vermonters support passing a law to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use. Only 32% said they are opposed.
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Source: The Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana is a broad coalition of citizens, organizations, and businesses working to end marijuana prohibition in Vermont and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed. For more information, visit https://www.RegulateVermont.org.
