MARIJUANA MOMENT – After sending messages for months that he had no interest in moving forward with Democratic-led plans to legalize retail marijuana sales in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has now formally vetoed legal sales legislation sent to him by lawmakers about a month ago along with a separate bill to provide resentencing relief for people convicted of past cannabis crimes.
In a veto message issued on Thursday, the governor wrote that “the proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians’ health and safety.”
“States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescent’s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue,” he claimed.
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“It also does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety. Addressing the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in Virginia’s current laws does not justify expanding access to cannabis, following the failed paths of other states and endangering Virginians’ health and safety.”
Regarding the resentencing bill, the governor wrote: “This bill grants eligibility to a significant number of violent felons who have already received a full and fair hearing.”
Other eligible individuals, he said, would include people incarcerated for other manufacturing or distributing other drugs, including fentanyl.
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“Now is not the time to allow an imprudent resentencing process that undermines public safety,” Youngkin said.
If the resentencing bill had become law, many marijuana-related criminal cases would have needed to be resentenced by the end of the year.
People whose sentences for other crimes were enhanced because of a prior marijuana conviction, meanwhile, would receive hearings by April 1, 2025 … READ MORE.
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