On September 4th, 2020, the family home of Bruce Prosper Jr., a long-time Vermont medical cannabis patient, was raided by the Essex County Sheriff’s Department that ended with Bruce and two adult family members getting arrested on cannabis-related charges. In 1990 a car accident left Bruce paralyzed, he depends on cannabis everyday for medical relief. Bruce and his family were unreasonably distressed during the raid by police officers equipped with high-powered assault rifles in a household with 2 children over a plant that countless businesses in other states are actively commercializing.

Please read more about this regrettable situation in the latest coverage by VTDigger.

During a time when states are passing commercial cannabis legislation as quickly as they can, and while Vermont begins to form it's own adult-use market, we demand:

- A dismissal of all brought against Bruce.
- A dismissal of all charges brought against Bruce's 2 adult family members.
- The return of any seized property that law enforcement still has in their possession.

Further, I recognize that Vermont has the lowest cannabis possession and plant count limits for adults in the nation, they're unreasonably low for recreational use and especially harmful for patients with a medical need, and I urge the Vermont legislature to revisit adult possession and plant count limits in the 2021 session to quickly implement a reasonable increase to at least 6 ounces of flower, 10 grams of concentrates, and 10 mature plants per household for home grow.