I was asked by the St. Albans Messenger a series of questions that will continue each week until the election on November 6th. This is the third question: Possession of a small amount of marijuana in Vermont is now legal. In your view, should the state move forward with a regulated market for marijuana or leave things as they are now?

The legislature moved too quickly towards the full legalization of marijuana this past biennium.  The biggest issue I am hearing while I’m talking to my neighbors going door to door is that they are concerned about the safety issues we will face now that marijuana is legalized, especially safety issues on the road. We don’t have an effective roadside testing method because our law enforcement officers will have a more difficult time keeping our roads safe.  As the father of two young sons - public safety is a top priority for me. 

Now that legalization is here, I believe we need to monitor the impact it has and see if we can further develop our testing and enforcement methods before I would support moving to a full blown retail and tax market.