U.S. News
Virginia beginning
on July 1.
In February of this year
, the marijuana legalization
bill passed in the General
Assembly
.
The bill was 250 pages and noted as very complex.
Originally
, the legalization was meant to
happen in 2024, however Northam proposed to speed
up the legalization of marijuana to July
first of this year
.
The legalization would allow people over the age of
21 to possess small amounts of the
drug. It would also become legal for people to take
part in home cultivation of up to four plants
per household. Like any other drug, it would be unlawful
for a person under the influence to
operate a motor vehicle.
Along with his proposal to speed up the process were
several changes to the bill.
According to the
Washington Post, one of these changes
would empower the Cannabis Control
Authority
. This would establish an industry to regulate
and oversee the marijuna agency
. They
would be able to suspend the license of businesses
that don’
t allow workers to or
ganize, pay less
than a prevailing wage, or classify more than 10 percent
of workers as independent contractors.
Another change would be a more ef
ficient way to get
rid of criminal records related to marijuana
incidents. Last but not least, he proposed budget
amendments.
The money being budgeted would
go towards advertisements that brief the safety risks
of marijuana as well as training police
officers to recognize when someone is driving under
the influence.
Earlier this year
, Virginia decriminalized small amounts
of marijuana.
According to the
Washington post, some advocates ar
gued that waiting
until 2024 to completely legalize
marijuana would give marijuana users mixed signals.
After approving a regulated industry but
still having the drug be illegal, it leaves people
vulnerable to arrest. Furthermore,
ABC News
explains that advocate groups ar
gue that the speeding
up of legalization is “the first step toward
ending racist marijuana law enforcement.”
This would
allow the Commonwealth to begin
addressing the issue concerning communities of color
being overpoliced on issues such as drug
possession and use.
ABC News also explains that Northam’
s decision was
driven by a state study from last
year that found Black
Virginians were disproportionately
policed and convicted for using
marijuana. Data from state courts show the trend has
continued even since lawmakers
decriminalized marijuana last year
.
On April 21, Northam signed legislation legalizing
the simple possession of marijuana in
Virginia on July 1.
Virginia would become the first
state in the south to proceed in legalizing
marijuana.