Category: Virginia
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Activists Urging Psilocybin Access For Terminally Ill Patients Arrested At DEA Headquarters
Around two-dozen activists rallied on Monday outside the headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Arlington, Va. to protest the agency’s refusal to grant people with terminal illnesses access to experimental drugs like psilocybin and MDMA. For several hours, the demonstrators blocked entrances to the federal building, shouting slogans like “DEA, get out…
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Virginia Lawmakers Drop Bill To Create New Weed Crimes, Crack Down On Delta-8
The Virginia Senate on Wednesday voted to shelve a bill that would have created new crimes for possessing weed while imposing stricter restrictions on the commonwealth’s hemp industry. S.B. 591, introduced in January by Sen. Emmett Hanger, a Republican representing Mount Solon, initially sought to prohibit the sale of weed edibles shaped like candy in…
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How Youngkin Turned A Simple Bill Into A ‘Monster’ For Virginia’s Hemp Industry
When first introduced by Virginia Senator Emmett Hanger, S.B. 591 wasn’t the apocalyptic measure that some in the hemp industry now see it as. The bill didn’t include anything about Delta-8 and hardly mentioned hemp. Initially, it mostly dealt with regulating the commonwealth’s medical cannabis industry by prohibiting the sale of weed products in candy-like…
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Eight Ways To Celebrate 420 In The DMV
It’s that time of the year when the sun pokes its head out, flowers start to bloom and the gentle spring breeze carries a subtle, yet unmistakable odor: the sweet smell of cannabis. That’s right — the week of 420 is upon us. And this year the DMV is going all out to ring in…
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How Did The Push For Legal Weed In Virginia Go So Wrong?
This time last year, Virginia Democrats were sky high. While holding the executive and legislative branches, Democrats managed to legalize possession of marijuana in the Commonwealth while becoming the first southern state to do so. Better yet, legalization was imminent, set to be the law of the land by July 1 as an effort to…
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Recreational Pot Sales In Virginia Could Begin This September
Lawmakers in the Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow existing medical dispensaries to sell cannabis to adults come Sept. 15, moving up the start date for recreational sales a full 16 months from its current 2024 deadline. The decision to provide a speedier path to legal sales marks a departure from the…
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Virginia Senate Committee Kills Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill
A nascent effort to decriminalize psilocybin in Virginia fell short Monday after a state Senate committee voted to indefinitely table the legislation. After two January hearings on SB 262, which would have lowered possession of psilocybin and psilocin from a felony offense to a misdemeanor punishable with a $100 civil fine, the Virginia Senate Judiciary…
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Virginia: Push To Decriminalize Psychedelics Falters, But Still Alive
A bill seeking to decriminalize possession of plant-based psychedelics in Virginia hit a snag this week in the House of Delegates, though counterpart legislation in the Senate remains alive and is headed for a committee vote next week. SB 262, co-sponsored by state Sens. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) and Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), and HB 898, from…
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Virginia House Committee Shelves Bill To ‘Defelonize’ Drug Possession
Lawmakers in Virginia’s House of Delegates unceremoniously shelved a bill on Friday that would have reduced criminal penalties for the possession of drugs. In a 6-2 vote, the House’s Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1 approved a motion for HB 612 to be “laid on the table” – meaning the measure is now unlikely to be…
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Virginia: Bill To Decriminalize Psilocybin Draws Early Support From Lawmakers
Virginia lawmakers from both sides of the aisle on Wednesday expressed early support for a bill that would decriminalize possession of psychedelic mushrooms, so long as it’s specifically for medical uses. Senate Bill 262, co-sponsored by state Sens. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) and Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), proposes to reduce the criminal penalty for possession of psilocybin…
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Virginia Lawmakers Propose Ban On Candy-Like Weed Edibles To Prevent Child Exposures
No more weed gummy bears? A pair of Virginia lawmakers wants to ban candy-like cannabis edibles that could appeal to children. Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-Mount Solon) filed legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin) last week that would prohibit the sale or manufacture of cannabis products “that depict or are in the shape of a…
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Virginia Lawmakers Hit Impasse Over Releasing Cannabis Prisoners After Legalization
In Virginia, the fate of people incarcerated for cannabis-related crimes is still up in the air. On Monday, Virginia’s Cannabis Oversight Commission, a panel of lawmakers charged with making legislative recommendations for this year’s session, proposed speeding up the launch of recreational weed sales by one full year to 2023. But the 10-member commission couldn’t…