Virginia Legalization Info | Sources: ACLU.org; MarijuanaJustice.org
Hazy on What’s Legal?
An excerpt from https://acluva.org/en/vamarijuana101 “Hazy about the new marijuana laws? Know your rights.” by By Ben Wong:
Today is 4/20, an unofficial marijuana holiday that many people celebrate by lighting one up. Any day now, the governor will sign an historic bill making marijuana legal in Virginia. It marks the beginning of the end of the failed War on Drugs that disproportionately polices and incarcerates Black and Brown people.
Before you bust out the weed thinking that marijuana is fully legal, you should know your rights. We’ve got a rundown of what you can – and can’t – do under Virginia’s new laws.
Why #LegalizeItRight?
An excerpt from styleweekly.com, “OPINION: Legalize It Right, Virginia. The call for true racial equity in marijuana legalization starts now.” by Chelsea Higgs Wise:
Let’s be honest. Virginia continues to legislate unfair outcomes for Black and brown Virginians when it comes to marijuana laws. Marijuana possession is still illegal and remains a civil penalty. Virginia judges can see civil penalties on your record and hold them against you in future sentencing. This is why expungement of past marijuana convictions must be part of the legalization conversation. From 2010 to 2019, Virginia made between 20,000 and 30,000 arrests each year for marijuana-related offenses, about 90% of which have been for possession of small amounts. Even though the data shows that use of marijuana by Black and white Virginians is around the same, Black Virginians were arrested at 3.4 times the rate as white Virginians and convicted for marijuana possession at a rate 3.9 times higher than whites. Across every locality in the Commonwealth, Black Virginians were disproportionately arrested and slapped with convictions on their records for marijuana possession, which as of July 1, is no longer a criminal offense in Virginia.
Download this flyer: https://www.marijuanajustice.org/s/LegalizeItRight-KYR-Flyer.pdf
