Category: Virginia
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The MORE Act, Explained
It was about a year ago that The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act—The MORE Act—first passed the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 24-10. Introduced on July 23, 2019, the MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively decriminalizing it nationwide and make it much easier for states to legalize…
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Virginia Ends Searches Based on Cannabis Smell Alone and Plans To Push Legalization
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Virginia’s House and Senate are all in agreement over House Bill 5058 and Senate Bill 5029, which will prevent law enforcement from searching people, people’s homes and/or vehicles solely due to cannabis smell. The bill recently passed the House and the Senate and was then amended slightly by Northam. That…
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Following Cannabis Legalization Wave, MORE Act Will Finally Get a Vote
Less than a week after an election that expanded cannabis legalization with voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota all approving ballot measures (not to mention Oregon voting to decriminalize all drugs), the Democrat-controlled Congress has announced they will vote on The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) next month. The MORE Act…
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Out Of State Cannabis Growers A Concern in West Virginia
Early last month, West Virginia’s Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC) within the Department of Health and Human Resources announced that it had approved the first 10 medicinal cannabis grower permits out of a total of 39 applicants. Medicinal cannabis was approved in 2017 after West Virginians voted in favor of it but the program is…
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‘Tainted’ Cannabis Scare in Virginia Makes The Case For Legalization
Last week, Alexandria, Virginia officials put out a warning to citizens about the possibility of cannabis that, they wrote, “may be mixed with unusual substances.” The warning was put out after there were what officials characterized as four “overdoses”—including one fatal overdose—that it would seem, cannabis was involved. The three people who suffered non-fatal overdoses…
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Episode 09: ABRAcadabra: Dank Deliveries and Cannabis for Cops
Scott, Shabnam, and Brandon discuss the continued easing of restrictions for cannabis delivery in the District, a new law in Virginia preventing the alleged smell of cannabis from leading to a vehicle search, and Maryland’s recommendation to ease restrictions of prior cannabis use for law enforcement recruits.
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Virginia Cannabis Smell Bills Amended; Dropped Weed Charges More Likely Thanks to Northam
Two bills considered by Virginia governor Ralph Northam last week will help protect people who use cannabis from prosecution by preventing police from searching a vehicle based on weed smell alone and preventing judges from overruling the wishes of prosecutors and defense attorneys when both sides agree a charge should be dismissed. The Outlaw Report…
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Virginians Can Finally Purchase Medicinal Cannabis in a Dispensary
2020 has been a banner year for cannabis reform in Virginia, even as nearby Maryland has stalled numerous modest cannabis reforms such as increasing the decriminalization threshold often blaming the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Last week, Virginia opened its first medicinal cannabis dispensary and Virginia’s special legislative session which was framed as a response to cannabis’…
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Virginia Bills Preventing Cannabis Smell As A Justification for Vehicle Search Go To Governor
Both Virginia’s House and Senate have passed bills that prevent law enforcement from using the smell of cannabis to search Virginians’ vehicles. House Bill 5058 and Senate Bill 5029 now go to Virginia governor Ralph Northam to sign. Cops continue to use the smell of cannabis—as well as false claims by police that they smell…
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Episode 08: Outdoor Grows, Racial Woes, and Congressional Nos
In the latest episode of The Outlaw Report podcast, host Scott Cecil talks to Outlaw Report writers Brandon Soderberg and for the first time, newcomer to the site Shabnam Danesh. The three discuss the latest developments (or lack thereof) pertaining to the MORE Act, Shabnam’s fascinating article about the environmental benefits to outdoor cannabis growing,…
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Quick Hit: West Virginia Approves Its First Ten Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries
While the agency in charge Washington D.C.’s medicinal cannabis program has changed, Maryland’s medicinal cannabis program continues to reckon with a lack of racial equity, and Virginia’s program is just getting started, nearby West Virginia has approved its first 10 medicinal cannabis cultivators: Armory Pharmaceutical of Maryland; Blue Ridge Botanicals of Texas; Buckhannon Grow of…