Legislation to Reform Vermont’s Approach to Drugs

Vermonters are pushing legislation and action to solve the overdose crisis. This includes decriminalizing drug use and ending criminal penalties for low-level drug possession, replacing them with a public-health approach. It also involves establishing drug-checking programs and overdose prevention centers statewide.

Let’s Keep the Momentum—Act 178 Needs to Keep Moving Forward

  • Act 178, passed in June 2024, is a vital step toward addressing Vermont’s overdose crisis. This law establishes a pilot program for an overdose prevention center (OPC) in Burlington, funded through opioid settlement money. The program includes comprehensive research and evaluation to ensure the center’s safety and effectiveness. However, the OPC has yet to be built, and moving forward is crucial.

    Since 2021, Chittenden County, where Burlington is located, has consistently recorded the highest number of opioid-related fatal overdoses in Vermont. As Vermont’s only city and one of its most diverse, Burlington faces unique challenges, including public substance use, which is a frequent concern among residents. Unfortunately, this has contributed to compassion fatigue and negative stigma toward people who use substances, prompting some to call for punitive measures.

    An OPC is critical for Burlington. It would offer a compassionate, evidence-based approach, addressing public health needs and promoting safety for the entire community.

  • Change the Law, Change Lives—Vermonters Supporting Decriminalization

    • Criminalizing people for drugs has been shown to harm people psychologically, physically, and economically. It also creates barriers that make it harder to link people who need help with available services. Even the fear of arrest pushes many people away from services that may help them remain safe and healthier. In 2024 Senator Tanya Vyhovsky introduced S.300 a bill that includes the elimination of criminal penalties for possession and dispensing small, personal-use amounts of drugs. The bill was not successful in it’s passing in the last session but similar legalization is projected to be introduced soon.

  1. Join the Decriminalize Vermont Coalition. Decriminalize Vermont is a coalition of organizations and individual Vermonters committed to ending the harms of Vermont’s drug laws and promoting policies focused on health, equity, and human rights. Learn and here 

  2. Add your name to a list of supporters for the establishment of an overdose prevention Center in Burlington here

  3. President Trump is expected to appoint a new U.S. Attorney for Vermont, which could jeopardize this important work, including the overdose prevention center. Vermont Senator Welch, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has the power to oppose appointments—so let’s urge him to prioritize candidates who support overdose prevention centers and non-punitive drug policies. Call his Burlington office at 802-863-2525 or email him at www.welch.senate.gov/email-peter. Find the email template and phone script here

Take Action!