A national organization dedicated to the decriminalization of marijuana is investing lots of green in Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin.
The Marijuana Policy Project, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., has contributed $14,000 toward electing Shumlin. The Windham County senator is one of only two candidates in the 37 gubernatorial races nationwide to have endorsed decriminalization, which replaces criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana with civil fines.
“I think Vermont could be one of the next three or four states to decriminalize marijuana,” said Dan Riffle, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project. “And I think if Peter Shumlin is elected governor, it could speed that process up.”
The group has made $7,000 in direct contributions to Shumlin's campaign from two of its political action committees and has given $7,000 to the Vermont Democratic Party with the intention, Riffle said, that it would support his candidacy. That would make Shumlin the organization's largest political beneficiary in the 2010 election cycle.
Decriminalization is hardly the centerpiece of Shumlin's campaign platform.
“The next governor has 200 really tough challenges to deal with simultaneously,” Shumlin said. “This issue for me will be 199.9 on that list.”
And he doesn't want voters to confuse his pro-decriminalization stance with support for recreational marijuana use.
“I do not condone smoking marijuana,” he said. “I think we have a real drug and alcohol problem in this state, and it's something I plan to confront head on.”
But Shumlin says decriminalization would allow the criminal justice system to focus its limited resources on crimes that have a more substantial impact on public safety and quality of life.
“I have always supported the decriminalization of marijuana because I want to spend our judicial and law-enforcement resources locking up and prosecuting drug dealers, rapists, child pornographers and other violent offenders,” Shumlin said.
Despite a heated campaign in which Shumlin's Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, has sought to paint him as soft on crime, the Democrat is standing firm on his position.
Looking at costs
For many proponents, decriminalization is more an issue of social justice than law and order. Brattleboro resident Vidda Crochetta, who co-founded a nonprofit called Marijuana Resolve earlier this year with former state legislator Daryl Pillsbury, said his advocacy is driven by a desire to unburden responsible adults from the “social stigma” of marijuana use.
“This is about protecting adults who prefer the use of a drug that is essentially a private behavior, like drinking a glass of wine or going home after work and having a six-pack,” Crochetta said.
Shumlin, though, says his views are shaped not by libertarianism but by fiscal conservatism.
The 1,083 arrests for marijuana offenses in 2006 accounted for 56 percent of all drug arrests in Vermont and about 6 percent of arrests overall, according to state and federal data. More than 90 percent of marijuana arrests in Vermont were for possession, and supporters of decriminalization say those arrests exact an unnecessary toll on public-safety resources.
According to a 2009 study conducted on behalf of the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, marijuana arrests cost Vermont almost $18 million annually in police, court and prison expenses.
“Decriminalization is a sensible reform not just for marijuana policy but for law-enforcement policy,” said Mike Meno, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Rather than having police waste time targeting low-level marijuana offenders that aren't a threat to public safety, they can focus on violent crimes.”
Other steps
Decriminalization isn't a new issue in Montpelier. Bills supporting it appear perennially in the Statehouse and generally garner scores of legislative sponsors, Shumlin among them. In 2009, the Vermont Senate passed a bill that would have effectively decriminalized possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. The House Judiciary Committee refused to take up the bill.
In 2004, Vermont passed a medical-marijuana law that allows patients with certain chronic conditions to possess the drug without risk of criminal sanctions.The Marijuana Policy Project wants to expand that by creating state-sanctioned dispensaries at which eligible patients would be able to obtain marijuana.
Were it to pass decriminalization legislation, Vermont wouldn't be in uncharted territory. In 2008, voters in Massachusetts approved a referendum that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. In November, voters in California will consider a similar ballot measure.
In Connecticut, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy also supports decriminalization.
According to Riffle, 12 states have either passed decriminalization laws or have criminal statutes that limit the penalties for possession to fines.
“Some politicians out there falsely believe the public doesn't support this, but the polling data says exactly the opposite,” Riffle said. “People are realizing prohibition laws don't make sense.”
In August, two weeks before the Democratic primary, Shumlin spoke in favor of decriminalization at a forum at the University of Vermont hosted by Marijuana Resolve. He won the primary by about 200 votes, a victory that decriminalization supporters attribute at least in part to his position on marijuana.
“Shumlin was in a five-way race and he wasn't necessarily the front runner,” Meno said. “He was the only candidate who was outspoken on this issue and he ended up winning, I think partially as a result of his support for marijuana decriminalization.”
In the general election, Crochetta said, Shumlin's position will continue to play well with Vermont residents, some of whom, he believes, will show up on Election Day solely because of Shumlin's views on marijuana reform.
“This issue might in fact increase voter turnout because people who don't ordinarily vote will vote in this election,” Crochetta said. “I think you'll see a lot of hemp advocates and marijuana advocates out there that might not have been before.”
High usage
Marijuana usage rates in Vermont are among the highest in the nation, according to state and federal data. According to a 2007 survey, 54,000 Vermonters used marijuana in the previous month, nearly 10 percent of the population.
Dubie says that's one of the reasons Vermont can't afford to go the decriminalization route. About 14 percent of admissions to substance-abuse treatment programs, according to state data, are due to marijuana use (about half of those are court-ordered admissions). Alcohol accounts for 56 percent of admissions.
“I do not support decriminalization of marijuana because it sends the wrong message to society, and mostly children,” Dubie said.
