Virginia votes to decriminalize cannabis

One after another, the Virginia House of Representatives and the Virginia Senate have approved the decriminalization of cannabis. With Democratic Governor Ralph Northam supporting the change, Virginia will become the 27th state in the United States to eliminate prison sentences for simple cannabis use.

Possession of up to 28g (1 ounce) will be punishable only by a fine of 50$, as opposed to the current penalty of 500$ and 30 days in prison. The possession of CBD- and THCA-based products for medical use based on a prescription has also been legalized.

An amnesty measure for previously convicted individuals was also passed by the Senate yesterday, on the sidelines of the vote on the SB2, the bill to decriminalize [...].

«We all know, regardless of our views on this bill, that the ban on cannabis has failed in this country and in the Commonwealth as well,» said Senator Adam Ebbin, the bill’s leading proponent.

Last week, the Virginia Senate also passed a resolution calling for the formation of a joint committee to «study and make recommendations on how Virginia should legalize and regulate the cultivation, sale, and possession of cannabis by July 1, 2022, and address the impacts of the cannabis prohibition. »

«Passing decriminalization in the House and Senate is an important first step toward legal and regulated adult use, but it cannot be the end goal. We must keep going because the work is not done,» Attorney General Mark Herring said in a press release. «For too long, Virginia’s approach to cannabis has unnecessarily saddled Virginians—particularly African Americans and people of color—with criminal records, a practice that is finally coming to an end. I want to thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for joining me in making this issue a priority, and I look forward to the progress we can make in the coming years.»

Herring, who is running to replace the governor in 2021, said he believed the governor would adopt broader legalization once he had more data on which to base his decision.