https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💥" title="Collision symbol" aria-label="Emoji: Collision symbol">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& #39;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)">https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-... This comes on heels of some new reform prosecutors saying no more pot prosecutions: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/virginia-prosecutors-fairfax-arlington-marijuana/.">https://theappeal.org/political...