David Cahill – State’s Attorney, Windsor County

What, in your mind, is the ideal structure for a functional legal Tax and Regulate system? How would you work with other branches of government to create this kind of system?

I support tax and regulate. There needs to be a legitimate pathway for adults to obtain cannabis since it is already legal to consume and possess in specified quantities. We can and should do better than forcing people to resort to the black market. As a prosecutor it is not my role to design that system, though I am partial to the Washington State model.

How would you assess Vermont’s current medical marijuana program? How will you ensure that registered medical patients and caregivers have access to an abundance of high-quality cannabis products priced at or below market rates?
My role as a prosecutor is to keep medical marijuana patients out of the criminal justice system, provided they play by the rules.
How will you ensure that people who’ve been disproportionately affected by prohibition (such as convicts and People Of Color) will have an equal opportunity to participate in Vermont’s legal cannabis industry? In particular, how will you work for statewide expungement of convictions for possession?
We held an expungement event this past June for individuals convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. My door is always open to folks who want to get these convictions off their record.
How will you make sure that all Vermonters have equal access to joining the legal cannabis industry as small and startup businesses?
Again, my primary role as a prosecutor is one of non-interference with a legal, regulated market. If it appears that a business, large or small, is breaking the rules, then it’s time to get involved.
Do you think state can sustain both a medical and a recreational program – or would you combine cannabis regulations into one system?
It’s possible to do both. Presumably medical patients should not be subject to the same level of tax as recreational users.
If tax-and-regulate is passed, how would you prefer to allocate cannabis revenues? To the general fund or to specific causes? If specific, please share any proposals.
This decision is outside my control as a state’s attorney.
Would you allow Vermont towns to enact temporary moratoriums or outright bans on legal cannabis businesses?
I could promise the moon, but this topic is also outside my control as state’s attorney. it’s for the General Assembly to decide.