Vermont’s governor has signed legislation that will allow adults over the age of 21 to legally possess twice as much marijuana as they could previously, enable interstate cannabis commerce and make other changes to rules for licensed businesses.

Gov. Phil Scott (R) on Friday announced that he approved the large-scale cannabis regulatory reform bill, S. 278, which passed both chambers of the legislature last month.

One of the main impacts of the new law for consumers is that it doubles the prior legal possession limit to up to two ounces of marijuana or 10 grams of hashish.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D), also allows the governor to enter into compacts with other states for cross-border cannabis trade.

The legislative text notes that there is a “shifting federal posture on regulated cannabis markets” and says it is “the intent of the General Assembly to prepare for the possibility of regional or interstate cannabis markets.”

A provision says that such agreements could only move forward if federal law is amended to allow for interstate transfer of cannabis, if a federal law is enacted that blocks use of agency funds to prevent such transfers, if the U.S. Department of Justice issues a memo allowing or tolerating such activity or if the state attorney general certifies that entering into interstate marijuana commerce agreements “will not result in significant legal risk to this State based on review of federal judicial decisions and administrative action.”

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The bill signed by the governor also creates a pilot program for cannabis events at which businesses could sell products but where cannabis consumption would not be allowed.

The legislation additionally says that housing rental agreements cannot prohibit tenants from “possessing cannabis or cannabis products within the rental premises or using cannabis or cannabis products within a dwelling unit, except that a rental agreement may prohibit the use of lighted cannabis or cannabis products intended for inhalation within the rental premises.”

It also eliminates the vertically integrated license type and reduces licensing fees for cannabis cultivation businesses, among other technical changes to current statute.

Earlier versions of the bill would have altered potency restrictions for cannabis products, reduced taxes and allowed on-site consumption licenses and delivery services, but those provisions were removed during the legislative process prior to final passage.

In 2018, Scott signed a bill to legalize marijuana possession and home cultivation and then allowed subsequent legislation to legalize commercial cannabis sales to take effect without his signature in 2020.

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

PAWLET — The Pawlett Historical Society and Rupert Historical Society will co-host a talk, “The Great Bennington Battle and Vermont,” with acclaimed historian Howard Coffin, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, at the Pawlet Town Hall, 122 School Street, Pawlet.

The surrender at Saratoga of a British army under John Burgoyne, now almost 250 years ago, has long been called the decisive battle of the American Revolution. But perhaps Burgoyne was doomed after the Battle of Bennington, a bloody day of fighting along the Vermont border that happened two months before Saratoga?

Coffin will discuss the history-changing Burgoyne campaign, focusing on the dramatic battle of Great Bennington—a Vermont battle as well as a New York one. He will also review heroes John Stark and Seth Warner and the Vermont Constitution, itself about to turn 250 years old.

A seventh-generation Vermonter, Howard Coffin is the author of four books on the Civil War: “Something Abides: Discovering the Civil War in Today’s Vermont;” “Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War;” “Nine Months to Gettysburg; and The Battered Stars,” as well as “Guns Over the Champlain Valley,” a book on military sites along the Champlain Corridor.

This free event starts at 12 p.m. with a display of the first coinage minted in the United States, and works by noted photographers Neil Rappaport and John Pelton from our towns’ Bicentennial events in 1976. Be sure to mingle after Coffin’s presentation for an ice cream social with Stewart’s Ice Cream. This event is accessible to all, and made possible by the Vermont Humanities Speakers Bureau. For details on the event, contact Rose Smith at 802-645-0306 or roseksmith1925@gmail.com. For information on Vermont Humanities, visit vermonthumanities.org.

QUECHEE, Vt. (WCAX) – Crews worked across the White River Valley on Friday to restore power and clean up debris after two EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Vermont, including one that swept through Quechee.

Joe Haynes stared over his yard in Woodstock, with chunks of his roof scattered across it, wondering about the next steps.

Reporter Connor Ullathorne: How long will this all take to clean up?

Joe Haynes: Oh, I have no idea.

He said he’s lucky he and his nearby neighbors are safe and are not blocked in.

“Some of the trees were down. They’ll be down for awhile but they can make their way out,” Haynes said.

Crews in Woodstock continued clearing trees and downed power lines along Route 4. That’s where Tiffany Miller was working inside the Mountain Creamery when the tornado passed right over the store. Nobody was injured, but their new walk-in storage ended up in the trees.

“It’s definitely a big setback for us. We were getting ready to have it wired up tomorrow. So I mean we definitely have a lot of elbow grease and hours to put in to get back up to where we were,” Miller said.

She said she was happy to see how many customers have checked in on them.

“It’s nice to see that no matter what, in some bad case– storms or indifferent– that we can still come together and be there for each other,” Miller said.

Farther east in Quechee, workers hacked away at trees and swept away debris along the golf course and roads.

“It’s crazy they want to see. Everybody cares about their community and all their assets and amenities, so it’s nice to see everybody come together,” Quechee Club General Manager Brian Kelley said.

Kelley said they were out early Friday, and many residents were shocked at the damage. He’s still hopeful the area can come together and support each other.

“We normally do about 200 rounds a day going into one of our peak weekends. We’ve got the balloon festival this weekend, so we have that population in town, so a little bit of disappointment but people have been great and supportive, and we’ll be back at it tomorrow,” Kelley said.

Kelley said it should be a few days until they are back to full force in Quechee.

Many others across the region told us they’re now focused on getting back to normal.

Click here for the latest forecast from the WCAX First Alert Weather Team.