Skip to main content

A Majority Of Virginia Residents Support Legalizing Marijuana Poll Finds

Three-out-of-five Virginians believe that marijuana should be legal for adult use, according to a survey released on Monday.

In a poll conducted by the University of Mary Washington, which involved phone interviews with more than 1,000 adults in the state from September 3-15, 61 percent of respondents said they support “the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by adults in Virginia,” while 34 percent said they’re opposed to the policy.

That’s a significant increase since 2017, when a similar poll found that just 39 percent of Virginia residents backed legalization.

“The latest Mary Washington survey demonstrates, to quote Bob Dylan, ‘the times they are a-changin’ here in the Old Dominion,” Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the university, said in a press release.

The results may add pressure on the state to tackle cannabis reform at a time when the arrest rate for marijuana offenses is steadily rising. Cannabis arrests have tripled in Virginia since 1999, with almost 29,000 logged last year.

Via Virginia AG.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) has recognized that the pattern was untenable, arguing in July that it “makes absolutely no sense” to continue pursuing a criminalization model as other states opt to legalize or decriminalize marijuana.

“Now is the time to put a stop to this costly, unfair, and ineffective approach, and to pursue a better, smarter, fairer course,” he said.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) proposed decriminalizing cannabis possession during his State of the Commonwealth address in January.

“Making simple possession a civil penalty will ease overcrowding in our jails and prisons, and free up our law enforcement and court resources for offenses that are a true threat to public safety,” he said at the time.

According to the latest poll, legalization is especially popular among Democrats, 72 percent of whom support the reform move. Sixty-two percent of independents agreed that adult-use cannabis should be legalized and 41 percent of Republicans said the same.

“It comes as no surprise that a majority of Virginians support legalizing marijuana. Virginians know prohibition has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars, derailed the lives of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Virginians, and has done nothing to protect our youth or provide for consumer safety,” Virginia NORML Executive Director Jenn Michelle Pedini said in a press release. “They’re ready for marijuana policy that works for, not against them.”

“Voter attitudes are no longer reflected in state law, and candidates on the campaign trail would be wise to take note,” she said.

The legislature has consistently blocked cannabis decriminalization measures. Republicans hold a slim majority in both chambers, but state elections this November could tip the balance of power in Richmond.

Virginia Will Participate In Hemp Crop Insurance Program Thanks To State’s Congressional Delegation

Original Article Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/a-majority-of-virginia-residents-support-legalizing-marijuana-poll-finds/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New York City Adds More Exceptions To Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Ban

An ambitious campaign to decriminalize psychedelics in Washington, D.C., is one step closer to placing their measure on the November ballot with the formal submission of tens of thousands of voter signatures. Organizers have been scrambling for weeks to collect enough signatures from D.C. voters by Monday’s deadline amid historically difficult circumstances: a global pandemic, months of stay-at-home orders and protests over racism and police violence that filled the streets of the nation’s capital. But with the help of innovative signature-gathering techniques and allies flown in from across the country, advocates said they had successfully submitted upwards of 35,000 signatures—more than enough to qualify the initiative. If approved by voters, Initiative 81 would make enforcement of laws against plant- and fungus-based psychedelics among the “lowest law enforcement priorities” for the Metropolitan Police Department. It would not, however, legalize or reduce penalties for the subs...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mississippi Medical Marijuana Activists Relieved After Controversial Legalization Resolution Stalls Out

Only a day after a new marijuana decriminalization law took effect in Virginia, top state lawmakers are announcing that they’re already looking ahead to full legalization. A group of Democratic legislators on Thursday announced plans to introduce a bill to legalize and regulate a commercial cannabis market in the state. While the measure isn’t set to be filed until next year, lawmakers framed legalization as necessary in the fight for social and racial justice. “Decriminalizing marijuana is an important step in mitigating racial disparities in the criminal justice system, but there is still much work to do,” House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said in a press release. “While marijuana arrests across the nation have decreased, arrests in Virginia have increased.” Other lawmakers backing the broader legalization push include Sens. Adam Ebbin (D) and Jennifer McClellan (D), as well as Del. Steve Heretick (D). On Wednesday, the state’s new marijuana decriminalization policy t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Virginia CBD Program Criticized As Multistate Medical Cannabis Operators Gain Edge

Seven companies are challenging a CBD licensing process in Virginia that resulted in multistate medical marijuana operators getting a majority of available licenses. The appeals called the process “wildly prejudicial.” Out of 51 applicants for five vertically integrated CBD and THC-A licenses, multistate operators received three, a situation that spurred the appeals, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Applicants filing the appeals complained the closed-meeting review process lacked fairness and transparency. One consultant to an applicant said the selections felt “predetermined.” The Virginia Board of Pharmacy reportedly sent information to the applicants in December explaining its selections, but some applicants weren’t satisfied. A board spokeswoman wrote in an email to the Pilot that the board “does not comment on pending litigation.” The five winning applicants , called “pharmaceutical processors,” have a year from winning the licenses to become operational. The multist...
Post a Comment
Read more