Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced Sunday that he had signed into law a package of criminal justice legislation that includes decriminalization of cannabis possession.
“Every Virginian deserves access to a fair and equitable criminal justice system,” Northam said in a statement on Sunday. “These bills combat mass incarceration, increase support for returning citizens, and ensure that those who have paid their debt to society have a meaningful second chance. I thank the General Assembly for working with us to build a more just and inclusive Commonwealth.”
For many people—especially those in black and brown communities hit hard by the “war on drugs” of past decades—old arrests and convictions for minor amounts of pot are still haunting them whenever they fill out a job application or apply for an apartment.
“Millions and millions of individuals have been arrested and have these records following them for the rest of their lives,” says Justin Strekal, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy got a high grade in a recent study from advocacy group National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
The pro-cannabis nonprofit released its 2020 Gubernatorial Scorecard on Wednesday, which assigns "A" to "F" grades to governors across the U.S. for their comments and voting records on marijuana issues.
This year, NORML gave Murphy a grade of A-minus.
This week, we will very likely have the first vote to outright end federal marijuana prohibition. The House Judiciary Committee has posted a markup for HR 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act on Wednesday, November 20th and they will likely hold a vote on the same day.
Travel guru Rick Steves told Hill.TV on Wednesday that the federal government should legalize marijuana.
"It's clear it's time for the federal government to recognize that we need to stop the prohibition against marijuana," said Steves, who is a board member at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Efforts to legalize cannabis in New Jersey have stalled in recent months as Senate and Assembly leadership negotiated details of the proposed legislation with Governor Murphy, who campaigned on the issue and pledged to enact legalization within his first 100 days in office.
Ken Wolski is Executive Director at the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of NJ.
“We support this legislation despite our concerns,” Mr Wolski told InsiderNJ. “On balance the good that this bill does outweighs its limitations including a sales tax, no home grow, and the creation of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission” to oversee the program.
“This imposes another layer of bureaucracy with over a half million dollars in salaries for a program that’s already being administered by the Department of Health which is handling the program pretty well,” Wolski added.
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey says one possible solution to keeping up with the increasing demand is to let patients grow their own.
“At $500 an ounce, it’s unaffordable,” said Peter Rosenfeld with the Coalition for Medical Marijuana. “If they can grow their own medication, this is something that would really improve the quality of life of many people.”
A burning joint, pleasantly fragrant and wrapped in organic hemp paper, rests between my fingers. I am pondering the reality of war continuing against me for this choice. Like many, I bear scars.
Marijuana smokers and medical cannabis patients in New Jersey are to remain second class citizens. The two-ring, bipartisan political circus in Trenton has failed to deliver a promise of our freedom… again.
WHO: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
WHAT: Lobby Day and Rally for Legalization Press Conference
WHERE: NJ State House Annex (at the outdoor fountain)
WHEN: Monday, June 10, 2019, 11:00 am
WHY: Marijuana legalization in 2019, home cultivation, expungement and diversity