This commentary is by Eli Harrington of Burke. He is owner and president of the Vermont Cannabis Convention and was formerly a licensed Tier 2 outdoor cannabis cultivator producing Vermontijuana brand sun-grown cannabis products. He was co-founder of Heady Vermont and the Vermont Hemp Fest and also worked independently in the cannabis industry as a licensed lobbyist and communications consultant.
Just a quick note about the exciting recent news that Zero Gravity Brewery is partnering with the University of Vermont athletics department to create the Green & Gold Lager, described as, “a limited-edition ‘Green & Gold Lager’ to commemorate @uvmmsoccer’s 2024 National Championship won in overtime on December 16.”
UVM and UVM athletics’ history and relationship with alcohol is their own existential struggle, and the point of this email is not to narc on the state’s flagship university for using their teenage athletes to sell beer.
Our shared problem is the cognitive dissonance between how the state treats alcohol — a toxic carcinogen made from mostly imported ingredients — versus how it treats cannabis — a nontoxic plant that can be grown in Vermont soil — and the powerful message it sends to Vermonters to disengage with an absurd, unfair and illogical system of “regulation” and preference the illegal market.
There’s a prevailing assumption in Montpelier that the Legislature and Cannabis Control Board are incapable of making cannabis reforms under Gov. Scott in 2025 — or maybe ever. But this industry failing due to bad regulations will negatively impact ALL of us much much more than Gov. Scott, so I hope that collectively, we can find the motivation to at least try and reform some of the more ridiculous and useless aspects of cannabis laws.
As far as legislation that will be widely supported within the cannabis industry and consumer base, I’d respectfully suggest legislation including:
- Removing THC caps and regulating high THC products for consumer safety. If these products are more “dangerous,” they should be regulated, not relegated to the illicit market.
- Creating catering permits to allow for private consumption of legal products at 21+ events like weddings and festivals.
- Aligning Vermont cannabis advertising restrictions with Vermont alcohol restrictions. To be clear, we’re not asking the state to actively market and promote cannabis as it does with cheap vodka, but just to have the same advertising and warning label rules.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Eli Harrington: Vermont’s pearl-clutching over cannabis and deification of alcohol is embarrassing and unsustainable.