A coalition of marijuana reform and social justice organizations are calling on Virginia’s governor and lawmakers to remove provisions to significantly increase fines for public consumption from recreational cannabis sales legalization legislation that’s expected to be voted on next week.
Under current law, using cannabis in public is a civil violation punishable by a $25 fine. Under a new compromise to legalize adult-use marijuana sales through budget legislation that was negotiated by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) and key lawmakers, however, the fine would be increased by 900 percent to $250.
That is generating pushback from groups like the ACLU of Virginia, Marijuana Justice, National Organization the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Policy Project, Drug Policy Alliance and Latino Cannabis Alliance, among others, who say the penalty spike would “deepen racial and economic disparities.”
“Higher fines and penalties for low-level marijuana offenses are not neutral,” the organizations wrote in a letter to Spanberger and legislators on Thursday. “They are enforced disproportionately against Black and brown communities, create debt that low-income people cannot afford and can trigger cascading harms in immigration, housing, education and employment.”
“Virginia should not recreate over-policing and over-incarceration through fines and fees when the stated goal of legalization
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