Category: Virginia
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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…
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Federal Court Of Special Appeals Rules in Favor Of Virginia Truck Driver With Weed In His Shoe
Earlier this month, The United States Court of Special Appeals Fourth Circuit in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a ruling in favor of a truck driver stopped for not having the proper permit and also charged with cannabis possession. The ruling came down on September 11, and explained why Jaison Feliciana, driving a bakery…
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Quick Hit: West Virginia Democratic Candidates’ Normalization of Cannabis Act
At Democrat candidate for West Virginia’s House of Delegates Chris Yeager’s hemp farm in Mason County, West Virginia, fellow House candidate Rusty Williams introduced The Normalization of Cannabis Act and streamed it to Facebook. Williams called The Normalization of Cannabis Act “the first piece of comprehensive cannabis legislation that we intend to introduce should we…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast Episode 07: Anacostia Organics’ Linda Mercado Greene and MORE Act Fallout
We have an especially in-depth episode of The Outlaw Report this week, featuring host Scott Cecil in conversation with Linda Mercado Greene of Anacostia Organics. But before that, The Outlaw Report’s Brandon Soderberg talks—and rants—about the Democrats kicking the can on the The MORE Act and after the talk with Greene, Scott and Brandon also…
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Quick Hit: Virginia Man Punches State Trooper During Traffic Stop For Cannabis Smell
A September 16, 2020 NBC12 story titled, “VSP: Richmond man arrested after punching trooper in face.” is the kind of police stenography masquerading as journalism The Outlaw Report has criticized plenty before. It describes a stop in which a state trooper in Richmond, Virginia pulled over a man for speeding and then after saying he…
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Op-Ed: National Expungement Week of Action in the DMV
by Ray Dixon National Expungement Week (N.E.W.) is a non-cannabis specific awareness movement that facilitates expungement relief and wrap-around services to communities affected by the War on Drugs. The American Bar Association describes “expungement” as “the process by which a record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed from state or federal record.” An expungement…
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Quick Hit: Documentary ‘CBD Nation’ Now Streaming
Back in July, The Outlaw Report caught readers up with Rylie Maedler, a 14 year-old CEO who is best known for her and her family’s work years ago tirelessly fighting in Delaware to allow minors access to cannabis. When Maedler was seven, she was diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease that could result in facial…