According to Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam (D), the state will become a leader on marijuana legalization int he south.

This past Friday Northam said Virginia will lead the way on marijuana legalization in the South, pledging to move forward with a cannabis measure in 2021 that he wants to serve as a model for the region.

“There are 15 or so other states that have moved toward legalizing marijuana,” he said on WAMU radio’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show. “Virginia will be the first in the South, but we tend to be leaders, and now that’s what we’re going to do this year. And we’re going to do it the right way.”

“Marijuana laws have been based originally in discrimination, and undoing those harms means thins like social equity licenses, access to capital, community reinvestment and sealing or expunging people’s prior records,” he said when campaigning on marijuana decriminalization.

“We want equity to be part of this,” he said in the interview, “and I as a pediatrician certainly want to protect our youth.”

The Governor is still undecided on whether to allow residents to grow marijuana at home.

“That’s something we’re looking into. We’re looking at what other states have done” he said. “The bottom line is, if we’re going to do that, we want it to be done safely.”

“Now, you could make the argument or the point that we’re able to brew beer in our home, why not grow marijuana?” the governor said. “I’ve heard that. I understand that. But it’s something that, again, we want to do this the right way. There’s going to be a lot of people at the table to discuss how we move forward. And that’s certainly a part of the discussion that we will undertake as we move forward with this.”

Northam has previously said that the policy change for full legalization is “not going to happen overnight.”


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Most Affected: Daniel Longoria, Joe Cavazos and Travis Longoria Fight for Their Freedom
14 January 2022
‘Father of Cannabis Science’ Raphael Mechoulam Dead at 92
10 March 2023
Galexxy Holdings Completes its Acquisition of ABC Wholesale
17 August 2022