Vermont cannabis history
Reviewed
Governor Scott signed the possession bill on January 22, 2018. Act 86 says the remaining sections take effect on July 1, 2018. Legislative staff told a House committee the retail market opened on October 1, 2022.
This is a short history, not legal advice. The rules that apply today are on the Vermont cannabis laws page. A date is included only when the linked page states it.
At a glance
July 1, 2018The enrolled act separates the effective dates and says sale was not the subject of the possession sections that took effect on July 1, 2018.
October 7, 2020The bill-status page says S.54 was allowed to become law without the governor’s signature on October 7, 2020.
October 1, 2022The committee handout says the retail market officially opened on October 1, 2022, with 3 stores.
Registry and civil penalties
- Legislative Council says the Marijuana for Symptom Relief Registry began in late October 2004.
- The bill-status page says H.200, on civil penalties for possession, was signed into law on June 6, 2013.
Possession, then licensed sales
- The governor said the bill covered personal possession of no more than 1 ounce and limited cultivation, and that sale is prohibited. The enrolled act is the plant count used on the laws page.
- S.54 is an act relating to the regulation of cannabis.
- The handout is a legislative staff update to House Ways and Means, not a store’s own announcement. It is the page that states the October 1, 2022 opening.
Sources
- sale is prohibited
- take effect on July 1, 2018
- retail market officially opened on October 1, 2022, with 3 stores
- allowed to become law without the governor’s signature on October 7, 2020
- Marijuana for Symptom Relief Registry began in late October 2004
- signed into law on June 6, 2013
Citations were checked against the linked pages on October 24, 2026. Claims without a statute, election result, regulator page, court opinion, or news report were left out.