Category: Virginia
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Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney Addresses National Cannabis Policy Summit; Virginia Expungement Bills Approved
Last week, the National Cannabis Policy Summit happened—virtually—and Richmond, Virginia Mayor Levar Stoney was among those who spoke. Like many other lawmakers in Virginia, Stoney pushed for cannabis legalization immediately after cannabis decriminalization went into effect. In August, Stoney sent a letter to Virginia’s governor Ralph Northam demanding the legalization and regulation of cannabis connecting…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast Episode 06: Virginia Cannabis Reform with NORML’s Jenn Michelle Pedini
In the latest episode of The Outlaw Report podcast, Scott Cecil talks to NORML Development Director and NORML Virginia Executive Director Jenn Michelle Pedini about Virginia’s recent cannabis reforms, the special legislative session, and possible cannabis legalization in the state. And The Outlaw Report’s Brandon Soderberg discusses the new ballot initiative in Washington, D.C. to…
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The Reccless Tigers, a Fire-Bombing Weed Gang Out of Virginia, Indicted Last Month
In early September 2012, members of the Reccless Tigers, a Virginia weed-dealing gang moving cannabis, vape pens, and edibles from California to Virginia approached a house in a leafy, middle class suburb of Springfield, VA and exacted revenge. One of the residents of a home on Victoria Rd. was supposed to give the Tigers $11,000…
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Quick Hit: The National Cannabis Policy Summit Is On September 10
On Thursday, September 10, the National Cannabis Policy Summit will be held. The third annual event is virtual this year and is also free to attend (you just have to register) giving those anywhere in the country who are interested in cannabis reform a chance to be part of the summit. The ability to attend…
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Virginia Senate Passes Legislation Preventing Cops From Searching Cars Based On Cannabis Smell
While cannabis legalization has not yet been considered during Virginia’s Special Legislative Session, two notable bills introduced passed the Senate last week: Senate Bill 5049, which prevents police officers from searching a person or their vehicle due to cannabis smell, and Senate Bill 5013 which would allow Virginians to pay their $25 ticket for possessing…
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Virginia’s Special Legislative Sessions Considers More Macro and Micro Cannabis Reforms
The special legislative session convened by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam began last week on Tuesday August 18, and among the issues discussed are ongoing changes both big and small to cannabis reform in the state. For months, advocates have pushed Northam on the issue of cannabis legalization—something Northam has been less vocal about even as…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast Episode 05: Talking the MORE Act with NORML’s Justin Strekal
In the latest episode of The Outlaw Report podcast, Scott Cecil talks to NORML Political Director Justin Strekal about the MORE Act, sponsored by Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick Kamala Harris. And The Outlaw Report’s Brandon Soderberg discusses Virginia’s ongoing reforms and the special legislative session and Maryland’s woeful progress when it comes to cannabis…
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Virginia Decriminalized Cannabis, Now it Considers Legalization and Begins its Medicinal Program
In July, Virginia officially decriminalized cannabis possession of up to one ounce, a positive for cannabis reform and a benefit to the many residents of Virginia who are now a bit less apt to get jammed up in the system for using and possessing cannabis. Leading up to decriminalization, arrests for cannabis were actually increasing…
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Synthetic Cannabinoid Seller Pleads Not Guilty in Virginia Federal Court
In March of this year, a federal indictment was unsealed revealing a three-year long investigation into a multi-state conspiracy to distribute and sell the synthetic cannabinoid colloquially called “spice.” The investigation, which began in Virginia alleged that Joseph Ruis, Kimberly Drumm and Bonnie Turner ran a business out of California that was called Aroma Superstore…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast Episode 04: Weed Smell in Maryland and the Limits of the DNC Cannabis Reform
In the latest episode of The Outlaw Report podcast, Scott Cecil and Brandon Soderberg discuss the new cannabis ruling in Maryland’s Court of Appeals related to smell and searching people, the politics of cannabis at the federal level and the Democratic National Committee’s decision to leave weed legalization off its 2020 platform. You can listen…
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Quick Hit: On Netflix’s ‘The Business Of Drugs’
Maybe it’s because of the mind-expanding, harm reductionist cartoon spectacle The Midnight Gospel and the goofy The Goop Lab With Gwyneth Paltrow which really veers into pseudo-science, but Netflix’s latest drug show The Business Of Drugs plays it straight—a little too straight. Across six episodes (“Cocaine,” “Synthetics,” “Heroin,” “Meth,” “Cannabis,” and “Heroin”) The Business Of…
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Virginia Hemp Business Expands—and Includes Teenaged Cannabis Gamechanger Rylie Maedler
Rylie Maedler and her mother Janie have a hemp farm in Birdsnest, Virginia cultivating 25 acres of hemp. “This month, they oversaw the planting of Rylie’s first full field of hemp,” Salisbury Times’ Julie Rentsch reported. “The 4,884 plants that went in the ground on July 3 were donated by Front Range Biosciences, a Colorado…