MUCH ADO ABOUT MARIJUANA LAWS
The state’s newly minted ‘cannabis caucus’ will advocate for pot legalization in Virginia.
If the first marijuana summit isn’t enough to convince you Virginia is on track to decriminalize the drug, perhaps a new “cannabis caucus” will do the trick.
State lawmakers gathered Wednesday in Richmond to tout their proposed legislation and hear from officials from states where marijuana laws have already changed.
“A lot of things are changing in Virginia today,” Del. Steve Heretick, DPortsmouth, said at the summit. “Just a few years ago, discussions like this would’ve been completely unimaginable.”
Heretick, a longtime supporter of decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana, will join Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, to form the General Assembly’s newest caucus focused on cannabis reform.
The host of the summit, Attorney General Mark Herring, has been vocal about his support of decriminalizing simple possession of marijuana and ultimately legalizing it, saying Virginia’s current policies unfairly target young people and people of color.
He’s backing Del. Charniele Herring’s bill that would change the punishment for possessing small amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a civil penalty as well as Heretick’s bill to legalize it. Both bills will be considered in 2020 by a new Democratic-majority General Assembly.
Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, filed a bill Tuesday night that would decriminalize marijuana and create a regulatory framework for legally cultivating the product.
Heretick said that under a Republican majority, those kinds of bills were only considered for a few minutes before they were killed in committee meetings.
Now, with Democrats gaining enough seats to control both chambers in Richmond, “We can expect a more robust, meaningful debate on these issues,” he said.
“Clearly we need to do decriminalization this year,” Marsden said. But he cautioned the summit audience about inadvertently targeting people of color even with civil fines.
And not everyone was on board with the summit.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijauna, said in an email he was alarmed that the summit didn’t include doctors and substance abuse and prevention professionals.
His organization opposes legalization and pushes for “sciencebacked” policies.
“Hosting a marijuana legalization summit with Big Marijuana insiders who are dedicated to the expansion of the marijuana industry is a bait and switch as the original topic was to be social justice and decriminalization,” he said. “Given the numerous public health harms currently emanating from marijuana commercialization, the Attorney General is leaping ahead and burying the science.”
Videos of the summit can be viewed at bit.ly/2M0T6tp.