By Karli Ratliff
Virginia should be moving towards legal and regulated adult use of cannabis said Attorney General Mark R. Herring in an op-ed published by Daily Press.
Herring wrote about the social impact of the current cannabis policy as well as the costs put on taxpayers and law enforcement.
“It is needlessly creating criminals and burdening Virginians with convictions. The human and social costs are enormous, in addition to the millions of dollars it costs Virginia taxpayers. And the negative consequences of the current approach fall disproportionately on African Americans and people of color,” wrote Herring.
The Virginia Crime Commission found that 46 percent of first offense possession arrests from 2007 to 2016 were African Americans while only 20 percent of the population is African American and studies show that rates of marijuana usage among African Americans and white Americans is comparable.
The cost of enforcing the criminalization of marijuana is estimated to be up to $81 million each year according to Herring.
He wrote that decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana should be the first step toward legal and regulated use of cannabis. This first step would also include releasing from jail, pardoning, and expunging the records of those who would not have been convicted by “more rational standards” said Herring in the op-ed.
According to Herring, the number of overall arrests for marijuana possession has increased 115 percent from 2003 to 2017 and the number of first-time marijuana convictions has risen from 6,533 in 2008 to 10,000 in 2017.
Herring wrote that while individual commonwealth’s attorneys have taken steps to reduce the number of possession cases “locality-by-locality action is no substitute for a rational, unified state-wide policy.”
He said that thought, consideration and input from a wide range of stakeholders will be required to determine what a new cannabis policy in Virginia will look like.
Herring believes that a new policy will bring justice to Virginians, free up law enforcement resources and increase trust between law enforcement agencies and communities.
“My team and I want to be sure we can provide assistance and input as Virginia considers its approach,” said Herring, adding that they have spoken with colleagues in states with more progressive cannabis policies about mistakes they’ve made and challenges Virginia might face if a new policy is pursued.
