Bennington, Burlington, and Brattleboro have approved it. So have Windsor, Strafford, and more than 20 other Vermont communities. And chances are, Hartford Selectboard Vice-Chair Joe Major expects, voters in Hartford will have to decide whether they want to approve it, too. The “it” in this instance is the retail sale of recreational marijuana, which the Vermont Legislature legalized — and Gov. Phil Scott let pass into law — effective in October 2022. “There is a strong possibility that Hartford will ask its residents on (Town Meeting Day) of March 2022 if they want to opt in to allow cannabis sales in Hartford,” Major said in introducing the topic at a town hall discussion Monday night at Hartford High School. The meeting, organized by the Selectboard and the Hartford Community Coalition, featured a panel of local experts on the issue so that voters “could make an informed decision before going into the voter booth,” Major said. Like the statewide debate surrounding the legalization of recreational cannabis itself a few years ago — Vermont’s law requires cities and towns to “opt-in” for retail sales to be allowed within their borders — the question in Hartford is polarizing and elicits impassioned arguments for and against. But there was little agreement, even on the facts, among experts on the panel.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 12/15/2021 19:00:00