Thursday, 22 April 2021 (YJC)_ From July 1 marijuana possession will be illegal.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill that legalizes the simple possession of marijuana, making the state the first in the U.S. south to allow the drug’s recreational use, the governor said.
In a bid to tackle racial disparities in the prosecution of marijuana-related crimes, the state accelerated to July 1 its timetable to pass the legislation, rather than waiting until 2024.
“Seventy-one days from now, Virginia will no longer police adults possessing small amounts of marijuana,” Northam said at Wednesday’s ceremonial signing of the bill.
Northam cited a report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission that showed Black residents were more than three times as likely to be arrested for possessing small amounts of the drug.
“We are moving forward in a way that promotes equity, provides a clean slate to those with prior convictions, and reinvests in the communities harmed by over-criminalization,” he said on Twitter.
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