Vermont Public Safety Department Should Have Medical Marijuana Dispensary Rules Soon
Medical marijuana patients in Vermont could get some much needed access to medical marijuana as soon as this summer. Last year the State of Vermont authorized up to four privately run medical marijuana dispensaries, but implementation has been lagging. Doesn’t that always seem to be the case? According to a press report out of Vermont, the rules surrounding medical marijuana dispensary implementation “should be ready in the next couple of weeks, Francis Aumand, director of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Wednesday.”
However, it sounds like the assurance wasn’t exactly set in stone, because the director put out a disclaimer. The article went on to say, “Because of the state’s procedures for vetting those rules, Aumand said he wasn’t sure he could meet a June 2 deadline for issuing certificates to applicants interested in running dispensaries, but that it shouldn’t take much longer than that.” For now, an expected summer implementation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Vermont would be good. However, as anyone who follows nationwide medical marijuana implementation will tell you, sometimes words aren’t always backed by actions. Just look at Washington D.C. and now New Jersey!
Legislators will always say that they don’t want to rush the implementation process and that they just want to ‘do it right.’ However, this can linger for years and years. I hope that June comes and there is at least something in place as far as an application process, because if Vermont is anything like New Jersey, there will no doubt be a ‘NIMBY’ type battle over the dispensary sites. However, unlike New Jersey, Vermont patients have at least some access to medical marijuana through their own pursuits. There are only 411 patients and 68 caregivers on the medical marijuana registry in Vermont, so maybe that will help implementation.
