As of this week, Vermont became the first state legislature to pass a bill to legalize recreational marijuana. That may be surprising to you, since eight other states currently have legal recreational weed. The difference? Those states passed public ballot initiatives. So, if signed by Republican Governor Phil Scott, Vermont will remove penalties for possessing one ounce of marijuana or less and allow adults to keep two mature plants. Ahhh, so nice to see a legislature opening its eyes to reasonable drug policy. Alas, in the same week of continued progress at the state level, “Debbie Downer”... Read More

This past year, states all across the nation have been significantly increasing the percentage of renewable energy that they are aiming to achieve. On this past Wednesday, the 7th of October, new renewable energy goals for California were signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. The San Francisco Gate reported on the event. This bill requires that “by the end of 2030, half of California’s electricity will come from the wind, the sun and other renewable sources under a new law that sets one of the country’s most ambitious clean-energy targets”. Some other states that have done so already this... Read More