Honestly? I'll believe it when I see it. I have been hearing this for YEARS.
Well, if you'd like to see, I've got the footage to prove it
Dr. French is the assistant head of the department, so I'd imagine he knows what he's talking about.
Anyway, I don't know about the other states, but in Massachusetts, since there are plenty of urban areas like Boston, they always have to be really careful about legalizing exotic animals. If an animal were to get out and cause havoc to the environment or to people, it will cause a lot more damage in an urban area than a rural one. Because of this, all animals start out as illegal until otherwise stated.
Massachusetts never had a problem with the sugar glider, it's just that no one took the time to fill out the paperwork to get them legalized until recently (perhaps because people didn't know there was paperwork to be filled out). There's a review process that has to be initiated for a species to be considered for the safe species list.