WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Decriminalize Pot in Vermont?

Decriminalize Pot in Vermont?

Montpelier, Vermont - January 3, 2008

Bill Sorrell, D-Vt. Attorney General, says minor marijuana cases are not putting a strain on the state's police and prosecutors. Sorrell's comments come in response to a key lawmaker's suggestion that Vermont decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot.

With just five days to go before the legislature reconvenes, the debate about decriminalizing marijuana has resurfaced. The Senate leader suggested that enforcing misdemeanor pot laws is unnecessarily tying up law enforcement, but Vermont's top cop says the facts prove otherwise.

"If you get prosecuted in this state for half an ounce of marijuana you don't go to jail. You go to diversion," says Sen. Peter Shumlin, D-President Pro Tem.

Shumlin is right. Annually, about 500 people charged with misdemeanor possession of small amounts of marijuana are sent to diversion-- as long as it their first criminal charge. And in return for community service or a charitable donation they will have no criminal record.

Shumlin wants lawmakers to discuss decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot because it drains law enforcement and court resources.

"I think that's a great public policy discussion to have and I look forward to seeing what the specific proposals are in the legislature. Is it only for first time offenders? What's the amount of marijuana that's going to be decriminalized?" asks Sorrell.

Vermont's Attorney General says he welcomes a discussion about rewriting marijuana laws. But he says enforcing current marijuana laws is not taxing the state's criminal justice resources.

"Law enforcement time specifically directed on those who possess small amounts of pot is minimal," says Sorrell. "Less than 1% of the inmates incarcerated in the custody of the commissioner of Corrections in Vermont are there for marijuana possession... Now the cases that do get prosecuted in court that relate to simple marijuana possession, it's typically because the person has violated a condition of his or her probation or parole."

Sorrell says decriminalizing marijuana would not get pot smokers entirely off the hook.

"What a lot of people don't realize when you talk about decriminalization is it doesn't make it legal, it makes it like a parking ticket or an ordinance violation in Burlington for excessive noise on a Saturday night," he explains.

Brian Joyce - WCAX News