“The state Senate gave final approval today to a bill that would allow the recreational use of marijuana, putting Vermont on course to become the first state in the country to legalize pot by an act of the Legislature rather than through a citizen referendum.

“Every other state with legalized recreational marijuana has done it differently: via ballot initiative. Voters in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Maine and Massachusetts, along with Washington, D.C., bypassed reluctant lawmakers and instead directly approved their legalization plans.”