Vermont House Approves Bill to Double Marijuana and Hashish Possession and Purchase Limits, Allow Marijuana Events

The Vermont House of Representatives just voted in favor of a bill that would double the state’s legal marijuana possession and purchase limits while creating a limited marijuana event program.

Senate Bill 278, which previously passed the full Senate, was approved by the House with amendments, meaning it must return to the Senate for a concurrence vote before it can be sent to Governor Phil Scott.

The bill is sponsored by State Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D), with cosponsors State Senators Alison Clarkson (D), Martine Gulick (D), Tanya Vyhovsky (D), Richard Westman (R) and Rebecca White (D).

Under the House-approved version, adults 21 and older would be allowed to purchase up to two ounces of marijuana in a single retail transaction, double the state’s current one-ounce limit. The measure would raise the state’s personal possession limit from one ounce to two ounces and increase the legal hashish limit from five grams to 10 grams.

The bill would also increase the THC cap for a single package of marijuana products from 100 milligrams to 200 milligrams.

In addition, SB 278 would create a limited marijuana event authorization program, allowing up to five public event authorizations and five private event authorizations each year. Each authorization would apply to one event lasting no more than 24 hours at an access-controlled location.

Events could not be held at locations where alcohol is sold or furnished for on-site consumption. Sales would be limited to registered adult-use marijuana and marijuana products, with the Cannabis Control Board tasked with developing procedures for applications, security requirements, selection criteria and restrictions on event sites.

The bill also includes language designed to prepare Vermont for possible interstate marijuana commerce. The provision would authorize the governor to enter into agreements with other states that have legal marijuana markets, allowing medical or commercial marijuana activity between licensed businesses in Vermont and licensed businesses in those states. Any agreement would need to include regulatory safeguards covering transportation, tracking, testing, packaging, labeling, advertising, taxes and product recalls. However, the provision would not immediately open interstate marijuana commerce; an agreement could only take effect if federal law changes, federal enforcement is limited, the U.S. Department of Justice allows or tolerates such activity, or the Vermont attorney general determines the agreement would not create significant legal risk for the state.

The House version is narrower than the version passed by the Senate. The Senate-approved bill would have allowed up to 10 public event authorizations and 10 private event authorizations annually, while also creating a marijuana delivery authorization program. The House amendment removed the delivery language and reduced the number of event authorizations.

SB 278 would also block municipalities from adopting ordinances or bylaws that prohibit marijuana establishments outright or regulate them in a way that has the same practical effect.

Most provisions would take effect July 1, 2026, if enacted. The event authorization program would be repealed July 1, 2028, unless lawmakers extend it.