I have been asked what my stance is on the proposed cannabis sales in Middlebury. Here is my public opinion.
We as law enforcement wasted everyone’s time in Montpelier trying to fight it from happening, it was going to happen whether anyone wanted it to or not. What we should have done was lobby for the same types of rules that govern the sale and use of alcohol for cannabis.
Cannabis has been around longer than most of us have been alive, I do not feel cannabis itself is a gateway drug. It should be well regulated in how it is grown; when you start adding stuff and altering it is where it leads to problems. I do believe there is also a place for its use in the medical field. I would rather see it sold in a store where it can be monitored, taxed and regulated then sold on the street corner or downtown on the green.
As for me personally I cannot stand the smell of it, and I feel smoking anything is bad for your health, but what you do in your own home is your business. Smoking it in public should always be illegal to do especially in populated areas with kids around.
Sheriff Peter D. Newton
Addison County Sheriff’s Department
Middlebury