Category: Virginia
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The Outlaw Report Podcast: Virginia Punts & DC Hunts (for Equity)
The Outlaw Report podcast host Scott Cecil is joined by D.C. entrepreneur and advocate, Caroline Phillips, the creator of the National Cannabis Festival and board member of Supernova Women, a non-profit whose mission is to bring racial equity to the cannabis industry. Scott and Caroline discuss the top stories of the week, including VA lawmakers’…
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Buds Ready to Bloom in Virginia’s Medical Program: Flower Is Approved
The final 2021 version of Virginia’s recreational cannabis legalization was approved in both houses in late February and now heads to the desk of the largely pro-cannabis Governor, Ralph Northam. Meanwhile, to less fanfare, Virginia’s medical cannabis program is taking a major step forward by allowing the sale of unprocessed flowers or smokable buds. With…
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Virginia Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Cannabis in 2024 in Last Minute Compromise
On Feb. 27, in the waning hours of a busy session, the Virginia General Assembly approved legislation to legalize adult recreational cannabis use. After working to resolve differences between two complex bills from Democrats, the legislature accepted a compromise that will allow recreational pot possession when the commercial market launches in 2024. Some advocates criticize…
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Virginia’s Decriminalization Didn’t Fix Racial Inequity in Cannabis Policing
Virginia’s legislature cleared both cannabis legalization bills on Feb. 16, with the Senate passing HB 2312, and the House of Delegates approving SB 1406. From here, representatives will hash out a compromise between the two bills, which still differ on several points, including the date of legalization. In 2020, Virginia decriminalized recreational possession up to…
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Advocates Call for Racial Equity Amendments to Virginia Cannabis Bills
Virginia’s House and Senate cannabis legalization bills have succeeded in their chambers and advanced to a special session that began Feb. 10. On Feb. 9, 25 advocacy groups led by the Virginia ACLU and Marijuana Justice wrote to Governor Ralph Northam and the legislature asking them to better center racial justice in their legislation. Other…
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Virginia Bill Would Let Communities Opt Out of Cannabis Legalization
As Virginia’s 2021 cannabis legislation evolves and advances, one delegate sponsors a bill that would allow localities to opt out of legalization, potentially establishing a regulatory patchwork across the Commonwealth. HB 2315’s sole sponsor is Del. Daniel Marshall, a Republican from Virginia’s 14th District. Some advocates say allowing individual localities to opt out of legalization…
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Virginia Cannabis Debates: Summer Legalization and Equity Loopholes
As Virginia’s cannabis legislation moves through the 2021 General Assembly, lawmakers debate a legalization timeframe, and advocates call for stronger equity provisions. A delay of legalization until 2024 has been proposed in order to provide time to create a regulatory body and marketplace. On Jan. 26, Jenn Michelle Pedini, Virginia NORML executive director and NORML…
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The Virginia Cannabis Bills in Play in 2021
A cannabis legalization bill introduced by Governor Northam and top state Democrats is moving through the statehouse, along with a handful of other proposed cannabis bills in the 2021 Virginia General Assembly Session. The legislation deals with a wide range of topics including cannabis oil processing, taxing the new market, and record expungement. Northam’s recent…
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Episode 13: What’s Next for Cannabis Reform in the DMV?
For the Season One finale, Scott and Brandon reflect on cannabis reform in 2020 and the recent coup attempt at the Capitol. They go on to discuss what’s next for cannabis reform in 2021 in the DMV, including the implications of potential DC statehood and the legalization bills working their ways through the legislatures in…
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Legalize It Right: Advocates Critique Governor Northam’s Cannabis Plan
On Jan. 13, Governor Northam released a 400-page bill outlining a process to legalize recreational adult cannabis use in Virginia by 2023. The following evening, ACLU Virginia and Marijuana Justice hosted a discussion called, “Legalize Marijuana Right,” which featured local and national speakers from the cannabis space. While the online forum was planned before Northam’s…
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Can Prosecutors Drop Cannabis Cases? Virginia Supreme Court Won’t Weigh In, This Time
Prosecutorial discretion, the power of government prosecutors to choose which cases to pursue or dismiss, has been under scrutiny lately in Virginia, especially in regard to cannabis charges. In late 2020, the Supreme Court of Virginia declined to engage in a conflict between Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and county judges, over Dehghani-Tafti’s choice to…
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The Year in Cannabis: Virginia
The police killing of George Floyd was not mentioned in The Outlaw Report’s year in cannabis round-ups for Maryland and Washington D.C. That’s because the state, which has decriminalized cannabis since 2014, and the District, which has had legal cannabis since 2014, did very little to address the obvious intersection between racial justice and cannabis…