Legalize Cannabis in Virginia

Just to clarify, it’s the 4 ounces spoken of earlier, so one should be able to manage.

Sometimes the cops would watch that liquor store near the bridge from DC to Virginia, and for Virginia tags,  and catch the "smugglers" coming across. Bet they do the same for pot stores close to the border.  Go for a scenic drive after the purchase!

norml.org/blog/2022/06/01/virginia-approved-budget-recriminalizes-public-marijuana-possession-over-4-ounces/

Well, fuck me. Turns out that the 4oz also includes edibles?!?! WTF

Guess I'll just go back to dabbing more, I mean, since having 4oz of concentrate is perfectly fine. Clueless inconsiderate jackasses

City of Norfolk starting plans for regulations on cannabis stores; expect similar moves elsewhere. Good that they are starting now and not last minute patchwork.

www.pilotonline.com/government/local/vp-nw-cannabis-stores-anticipated-20220812-a6k3jjqoqzdozm4krbos6fcy6a-story.html

Things like this and concerns with other licences are what have kept me from getting my card. Anyways,now you don't even need the card. A doctor's recommendation is all you need to shop at a dispensary.

Still haven't done that either. Country boy can survive...

This is easily skirted in VA, but I wonder what the implications are in Florida where it is medical only. Another way to look at it is if it is impeding Merika’s obsession with shooting stuffs it might speed up the de-scheduling of pot.

From Axios this morning.  

“When Virginia lawmakers voted almost two years ago to legalize marijuana, their 2024 target date to begin retail sales struck many as a long time to wait.

What's happening: It's starting to look like it might not even happen in 2024.

State of play: Any legislation authorizing retail sales in 2024 would have to pass when the General Assembly convenes for the next session in January.

That means it would still have to get past the same GOP majority that refused to give the issue a hearing last session.
What they're saying: "Nothing has changed that I'm aware of," Garren Shipley, spokesperson for House Speaker Todd Gilbert, tells Axios.

Catch up fast: Virginia lawmakers voted to legalize possession but not sales of recreational marijuana in July 2021.

The decision to wait until 2024 to begin retail sales was initially intended to give lawmakers and regulators a three-year runway to set up the market, but before Democrats finalized the plan, they lost control of the House and governor's office, thrusting the state into weed purgatory.
Yes, but: Some lobbyists working on legalization remain hopeful Senate Democrats and House Republicans can reach an agreement on the issue.

Greg Habeeb, a former GOP delegate who represents the Virginia Cannabis Association, says that last year Republicans barely had a month to work on the issue between winning the majority back and the beginning of the legislative session.
"When we get to session next year, Republicans will have had a full year of being in charge and studying Republican solutions," Habeeb says.
Between the lines: There are signs some key Republicans are taking an interest in the issue, with lawmakers representing agricultural areas taking the lead, including House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore.

But even if the GOP does play ball this year, the big question will be whether the two sides can "craft a version of the bill that can pick up Republican support without losing Democratic support," Habeeb says.”

It all goes back to getting the Federal standards in synch with, or at least looser than, the state standards. it would solve so many problems, including the cash crime banking debacle. Then, if a state or locality wants to be anti, it can be (unlike a Constutional issue).

A cautionary tale:
A woman in Virginia is in trouble because her child got ahold of her legally purchased and owned handgun. That's not what this is about. She is now in Federal hot water when it came to light that she used marijuana, although legally under State law--because she lied on the Federal background check form that she did not use illegal drugs. Now she faces Federal charges.

So never let your smoking and gun ownership come up in the same conversation with authorities.

It's possible you are like me and all your guns were acquired before the background checks.

This inconsistency is ludicrous.

Recent news discusses a guy with "Federal gun charges" getting a diversion instead of jail time. The "gun charges' are just what I had posted about--a guy with an otherwise legal gun in possession of someone (now known) to use illegal drugs. Commentary on the matter say it is highly unusual for a Federal charge not to have jail time. This is not about politics; it is further warning about this trap. You don't want to be the test case to challenge the conflict.

An adverse effect would also be that a person who happens to possess a gun, any gun, would not seek help for drug-related problems, due to the risk of losing his guns and worse, facing a Federal conviction.