States in the Northeast have been undergoing marijuana reform recently with ME and MA legalizing the plant for recreational use last November and states like Rhode Island in talks to legalize it through legislature.

The state Senate on Thursday passed an amended version of a House bill eliminating criminal penalties for possession of three-quarters of an ounce or less.

Phil Scott (R) has said the legislation is not "a priority for Vermont" and has not made a final decision as to whether he will sign it.

The committee released House Bill 110, also known as the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, with a 10 to 2 vote.

The legislation would create a commission to regulate, license and tax the marijuana industry, allowing licenses for up to 40 retail stores. The law would create a legal system to regulate the use and sale of the drug, but would still make possession over an ounce a criminal offense. "I think what we should be doing is trying to find ways to protect those on our highways".

When asked if Scott will allow the bill to become law, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman said he's not sure, partly because the governor hasn't kept him close on his thought processes on the issue. "I think this is incredible", said David Silberman, a Middlebury lawyer who has been lobbying for legalization. "I hate losing but we're not losing. I think there's a recognition that we're in a different era", he added. The Vermont legislature has clearly made up its mind by passing it out of both chambers, but it still needs the Governor's signature. "This is going to happen".

"The reason I am supporting this bill is personal", said Bradley.

The latest version of the bill was the result of a compromise between earlier House and Senate versions.

Despite those restrictions, activists are celebrating the bill as a victory for the legalization movement.

"I see nothing in this bill that gives me any confidence that that trend might continue and I'm scared that it might reverse", he said. The vote by Vermont lawmakers was the first to legalize marijuana separate from a voter initiative.

In New Hampshire, finding a decriminalization bill that could pass the Senate took significant work, with Bradley working alongside pro-marijuana advocates and the police to find a workable bill.

Benning says keeping prohibition in place in Vermont will lead to the same unsafe phenomenon that he and his neighbors deal with in the Northeast Kingdom, where they "worry at night about our kids heading over the border" to buy alcohol.

His statements got a lot of press coverage, but state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who has said he will support the legislation, said afterward that Christie is wrong and he expects the measure will go forward.