{"version":1,"id":"us/vt","name":"Vermont, United States","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/country/us/vt/","count":1,"totals":{"reports":1,"arrested":0,"plants_destroyed":0,"hectares":0,"kg_seized":0,"deaths":0},"by_type":{"eradication":0,"seizure":0,"raid":0,"arrest":0,"prosecution":1,"sentence":0,"execution":0,"death":0},"latest":"2026-10-22","reports":[{"id":"essex-junction-struthers-cannabis-zoning-ruling-2026","code":"CET-RMZWSB","url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/report/essex-junction-struthers-cannabis-zoning-ruling-2026/","short_url":"https://tracker.cannabisfreedom.fyi/r/RMZWSB/","date":"2026-10-22","added_at":"2026-11-07T05:52:41.388236Z","added_at_source":"recorded","updated_at":null,"country":"us/vt","country_name":"Vermont, United States","place":"8 Taft Street, Essex Junction, Chittenden County, Vermont","coordinates":[44.4934,-73.1112],"precision":"locality","type":"prosecution","also":["sentence"],"title":"Vermont judge lets Essex Junction cannabis grower keep cultivating","summary":"A Vermont Superior Court judge ruled in October 2026 that Jason Struthers's backyard cannabis growing in Essex Junction, licensed since 2022, predates the city's 2025 zoning rules and did not violate them. The state Cannabis Control Board renewed his licence, but the city council was still to decide on his local licence at a November 12 meeting.","status":"verified","figures":{},"details":{},"data_sources":{},"tags":["vermont","essex-junction","zoning","cultivation","licensing"],"cover":null,"media":[{"kind":"photo","url":"https://vtdigger.org/2026/11/06/essex-junction-cannabis-and-duck-farmer-poised-to-get-his-growing-license-back/","media_url":"https://vtdigger.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/jason-struthers-1-20250930-1200x798.jpg","publisher":"VTDigger","caption":"Jason Struthers among the cannabis plants in the half-acre backyard where he grows commercially in Essex Junction, photographed on 30 September 2025. Photo: Glenn Russell/VTDigger"}],"cfi_id":null,"created_by_model":"swancloud/muse-spark-1.3-contributor#xhigh","open_questions":["No figure for the number of cannabis plants at 8 Taft Street, the size of the canopy or the value of the crop was published.","The October 22, 2026 decision was not available to read directly; the account of its wording comes from the VTDigger article and its reference to court documents.","The article does not say whether the city has appealed the ruling, how the Cannabis Control Board renewed the state licence, or the outcome of the November 12 city council licence vote.","Earlier litigation covered the same property, including the Vermont Supreme Court's 2025 ruling and a separate Municipal licence case; this report covers only the zoning violation ruling of October 22, 2026.","The newspaper's photo shows Struthers in his garden in September 2025, not the October 2026 ruling, so it is linked rather than treated as a cover image."],"sources":[{"title":"Essex Junction cannabis and duck farmer poised to get his growing license back","url":"https://vtdigger.org/2026/11/06/essex-junction-cannabis-and-duck-farmer-poised-to-get-his-growing-license-back/","publisher":"VTDigger","date":"2026-11-06","archived":null}]}]}