In the News
Here are the latest updates on the growth, use, sale, testing, regulation, enforcement and equity of marijuana in Virginia.
2024 Drug War Reparations Op-ed
Juneteenth is a day of joy when we celebrate the end of slavery in the United States, but for too many Black Americans, the harms of slavery never fully went away. Instead, they morphed into newer forms of discrimination and oppression….
June 19, 2024
Major Cannabis Reform & Industry Non-Profits: Rescheduling Won’t Achieve Biden Administration’s Campaign Promise or Social Justice Goals
In response to reporting this week that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is recommending to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that cannabis be reclassified under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) from Schedule I to Schedule III, a group of drug policy reform nonprofits and cannabis industry trade organizations focused on social justice are urging the Biden administration to make good on its promise to decriminalize cannabis by fully removing cannabis from the list of controlled substances.
August 31, 2023
Williams: Stop weaponizing gun ownership against legal marijuana use
Deja Taylor was never going to be a poster child for the National Rifle Association. Her firearm was used by her child to shoot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, on Jan. 6 during a class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Zwerner survived, but prosecuting a 6-year-old boy in the shooting proved untenable. The ire over this unthinkable act quickly shifted toward Taylor, whose fitness as a mom was called into question
July 23, 2023
Column: Rushing cannabis profits will hurt Black communities
When Virginia legislators voted to legalize marijuana in 2021, they rightfully cited the urgency to end racially biased arrests in the commonwealth and passed a legalization framework focused on repairing the damage done to the Black communities most harmed by years of racially biased marijuana prohibition.
Jan 26, 2023
Column: The Time Has Come To Fully Decriminalize Marijuana
“Now we risk losing the original intent behind marijuana legalization — unwinding the decades of racist enforcement of drug laws that have deeply damaged Black families and communities. Here’s some examples of the problems that remain"…”
December 10, 2022
Hundreds Sit in Virginia Jails for Marijuana Crimes While the State Moves to Profit After Legalization
In April of last year, Ramone Brown waited with anticipation for the results of a bill that would make marijuana legal in Virginia. Sitting in his prison cell going on 3 years, he wondered if this would be his chance to be reunited with his family sooner.
February 25, 2022
Marijuana Equity Advocates Call on Virginia Legislators to Stop Exclusive Early
Adult-Use Market Access for Medical Operators
Virginia’s latest legalization bill proposes to continue the War on Drugs by including new possession crimes, while granting a head start to the same institutions who continue to manufacture exclusion and enforcement.
February 14, 2022
With legalization pending in Virginia, advocates call for Day One Equity, Re-sentencing, and No New Crimes
On Monday, February 14th, the Virginia CannaJustice Coalition and Minority Cannabis Business Association hosted a virtual press conference to address the state of the Marijuana bills ahead of legislative crossover.
February 14, 2022
Opinion: Legal marijuana in Virginia is just the first step
Ashna Khanna, Chelsea Higgs Wise, Valerie Slater and Bryan Kennedy, Washington Post
April 8, 2021
‘I’ve Done Time for This Plant’: Virginia Aims to Diversify Marijuana Industry
Ben Paviour, VPM
February 4, 2021
Marijuana legalization advances in Virginia, but lawmakers push start date to 2024
Ned Oliver, Virginia Mercury
February 3, 2021
Virginia Cannabis Debates: Summer Legalization and Equity Loopholes
Julia Travers, The Outlaw Report
February 2, 2021
Governor Budgets for Cannabis Legalization as Richmond Mayor Calls for Equity
Julia Travers, The Outlaw Report
January 5, 2021
Ashna Khanna and Chelsea Higgs Wise Column: Virginia Should Legalize Marijuana
Ashna Khanna and Chelsea Higgs Wise, Richmond Times-Dispatch
December 19, 2020
OPINION: Legalize It Right, Virginia
Chelsea Higgs Wise, Style Weekly
December 8, 2020
Governor's Plan for Cannabis Legalization Forgets Affected Communities
Megan Schiffres, Dogwood
December 5, 2020
Why So High? More Than Half the Cost to Legalize Weed in VA Goes to Police, Report Says
Megan Schiffres, Dogwood
December 4, 2020
Opinion: Virginia can’t have marijuana legalization without equity
Opinion by Terry McAuliffe and Don Scott, Washington Post
November 24, 2020
Ramone Browne Statement
Read Ramone’s Statement
Advocates Say Marijuana Legalization Should Come With Reparations
Roberto Roldan, VPM
November 23, 2020
Virginia Lawmakers Pass Bills To Ban Searches Based On Marijuana Odor
A.J. Herrington, High Times
October 5, 2020