While there is no place to legally purchase marijuana in the state,law-abiding Vermonters can, if they already have it, consume it. As for how to do so politely, Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute, has provided a book called, "Higher Etiquette: A Guide To the World of Cannabis, From Dispensaries To Dinner Parties."
Listen above to VPR's Mitch Wertlieb and author Lizzie Post discuss her book, Higher Etiquette.
Combatants in the political fight over a tax-and-regulate system in Vermont retreated to their legislative corners with a no-decision before the end of the last session. The next round in that fight won't come around until January.
In the meantime, pot consumption is legal in Vermont. But it's still not everyone's cup of...tea. (People of a certain age may recognize the marijuana euphemism, at least if they were alive in the 1960s).
No matter what you call it, when questions of etiquette are posed, we turn to an expert for answers, which is where Lizzie Post comes in.
Post recently published her book on marijuana etiquette, and it is designed, she said, to help people find their comfort level with social marijuana use, because "we are able to grow our own, smoke our own and give our own."
Post offered guidance on how to talk with friends about personal use of marijuana in their home.
"You frame it that you have a boundary, and that you'd like to ask if this is something that's a part of this household," she said. "We're asking permission to have the conversation, but we're also giving someone some insight as to why we want that conversation."
Post added, "The idea is to not place judgment on one household over another for having boundaries or having permissions."
Post thinks there is a stigma when it comes to marijuana use, and she's hoping her book will help to break down that stigma.
"The idea is to not place judgment on one household over another for having boundaries or having permissions." — Lizzie Post, author of "Higher Etiquette"
"We're talking about a hundred years of negative programming that we've been dealt out," she said.
But Post hopes the stigma is changing.
"I really love the fact that people are starting to open up to a broader understanding of who engages with this plant and why," she said.
When asked about her own use of the plant, Post said, "I am a cannabis consumer, I have been for quite a long time. I find that it really benefits my life. I've been really happy with my experiences with it, so I'm a pretty proud cannabis consumer."
Post noted the importance of cannabis education.
"I think that if you're educating people, you're not telling them that this has no negative side-effects on them whatsoever," she said. "You're explaining to them it is something that you need to wait until your brain is fully developed for. It is something that can make impacts on your functionality, especially depending on the type of strain and the potency that you're smoking."
