MONTPELIER -- The Vermont State Police's drug task force needs more funding for undercover officers to fight the growing use of illegal drugs, says its new leader, Lt. Thomas L'Esperance. And Vermont must provide more treatment for addicts, said L'Esperance, who started his new job last week in Waterbury. L'Esperance, 37, and a native of Lynn, Mass., worked with the State Police in southern Vermont for a decade, most recently as commander of the Rockingham barracks. He's seen a dramatic change in the drug trade in just the last few years. [continues 521 words]
MONTPELIER (AP) -- Lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would make marijuana available to seriously ill people who could be helped by it. The measure, which is similar to one introduced in the Vermont House last year, would allow patients with certain disorders to grow marijuana for their own use if they had a statement from their physician saying its potential benefits would likely outweigh its risks. The bill would make such users exempt from prosecution, and is similar to measures that have passed in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, said Rep. David Zuckerman, P- Burlington, the lead sponsor of the bill. [continues 339 words]
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- The best way to find out whether it makes sense to grow industrial hemp -- the plant from which the drug marijuana can be derived - -- is to plant a few test plots, a University of Vermont economist says. Dr. Jane Kolodinsky, an associate professor of economics, told the state House and Senate Agriculture committees there is not enough information about the potential market for U.S.-grown hemp to predict whether farmers could make money growing it in Vermont. But its success as a niche product in Europe indicates it is worth a try, Kolodinsky said. [continues 329 words]