The Green Mountain State is making history, becoming the first state to legalize marijuana, not through a popular vote, but by legislation.
But the mayor of the Vermont’s capital city Montpelier told Cheddar that things need to change on the federal level.
“I think it’s just appalling, the use of federal crime resources to be chasing marijuana use,” John Hollar said. “I think it’s really ironic that this is coming from a Republican administration that purports to support states’ rights. But when it comes to marijuana, it decides that this is something it’s going to deal with at a federal level...I hope it gets overturned by Congress or reconsidered by the Attorney General.”
His comments refer to Attorney General Jeff Sessions who recently rescinded an Obama-era law that allows states to regulate marijuana without federal interference.
Under its new law, Vermont residents can carry up to an ounce of marijuana for personal, recreational use and grow, though commercial sales are still prohibited.
Some members of Congress are fighting Sessions’ efforts with the REFER Act. The proposed bill, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), aims to protect states, and people in those states, that allow the use of cannabis.
Officials say the European Union is finalizing plans to allow tourists from the United States to travel to the 27-nation bloc this summer.
Jill is joined by Baker Machado this morning to talk about the CDC reinstating the J&J vaccine, a worsening Coronavirus crisis in India, but also, where things are looking a lot better.
Michigan has become the current national hotspot for COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations at a time when more than half the U.S. adult population has been vaccinated and other states have seen the virus diminish substantially.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
A U.S. health panel says it’s time to resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, despite a very rare risk of blood clots.
A growing coalition of private companies, nonprofits, and the federal government are pushing for a more unified approach towards COVID vaccination credentialing.
Republican Caitlyn Jenner says she will run for governor of California. Jenner says in statement posted Friday on Twitter that she has filed initial paperwork to run.
World leaders have joined President Joe Biden at a virtual climate summit to share their stories about how nations can break free of climate-damaging fossil fuels.
Phillippe and Ashlan Cousteau, co-authors of "Oceans for Dummies," joined Cheddar to discuss the outsized impact the Earth's seas have on the climate crisis.
A decades long-movement to reshape the American political map has taken an important further step.
