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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has just signed a law decriminalizing marijuana possession (up to one ounce). The law also seals past records. So possession is now punishable by a $25 fine, and not criminal charges & arrest. There were 46K criminal cases in 2018 alone!
Many "but"s, though:
1. VA did not legalize pot (18 states have).
2. Continued policing & fines sure to be racially unequal—as they've been elsewhere, & arrests have been in VA.
3. Police can cite smell of pot to justify vehicle searches. The ACLU focused on this, but no change.
1. VA did not legalize pot (18 states have).
2. Continued policing & fines sure to be racially unequal—as they've been elsewhere, & arrests have been in VA.
3. Police can cite smell of pot to justify vehicle searches. The ACLU focused on this, but no change.
Two more context:
(1) "Virginia will become the 27th state to remove the threat of jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana": https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-governor-officially-signs-marijuana-decriminalization-bills-into-law/
(2) This comes on heels of some new reform prosecutors saying no more pot prosecutions: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/virginia-prosecutors-fairfax-arlington-marijuana/.
(1) "Virginia will become the 27th state to remove the threat of jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana": https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-governor-officially-signs-marijuana-decriminalization-bills-into-law/
(2) This comes on heels of some new reform prosecutors saying no more pot prosecutions: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/virginia-prosecutors-fairfax-arlington-marijuana/.
