Virginia lawmakers approved a bill on Saturday that would legalize the sale and recreational use of marijuana – but not before 2024.
The historic movement makes Virginia the first southern state to vote to legalize marijuana, joining 15 other states and the District of Columbia. The legislation now goes to Democratic Governor Ralph Northam, who supports legalization, for his signature.
“It has been a lot of work to get here, but I would say that we are on the road to an equitable law that allows responsible adults to use cannabis,” State Sen. Adam Ebbin, the Senate’s top advocate for the Senate bill, told the Associated Press.
Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn applauded her colleagues in both houses for approving the measure.
“The Chamber and the Senate took a strong step to legalize the sale and possession of marijuana here in the Community,” he said Filler-Corn on Twitter. “This legislation will make our criminal justice system more just and help end the targeting of black and brown communities by marijuana possession.”
Still, some Democrats, like state senator Jennifer McClellan, asked Northam to amend the bill, including marijuana legalization earlier.
“We still have a long way to go to ensure that we address the disproportionate impact that the marijuana ban has had on black and brown communities,” McClellan tweeted. She asked Governor Northam to change the bill so that simple tenure would become legal this year.
Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, said the governor “hopes to continue to improve this legislation”.
“There is still a lot of work to do, but this bill will help reinvest in our communities and reduce inequalities in our criminal justice system,” Yarmosky told NBC Washington.
Under approved legislation, possession of up to an ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana will become legal as of January 1, 2024. At the same time, sales will begin and regulations will take effect to control the marijuana market in Virginia.
The Senate sought to legalize simple possession this year to immediately end punishments for people with small amounts of marijuana, but House Democrats argued that legalization without a legal marijuana market could continue to promote the growth of the black market.
Last year, lawmakers decriminalized marijuana, making simple possession a civil penalty that can be punished with a maximum $ 25 fine.
Despite major reforms to the project, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said the new legislation does not go far enough to “break the chains of marijuana prohibition.”
“The Virginia General Assembly failed to legalize marijuana for racial justice. Lawmakers have spoken out to communities that have suffered decades of damage from the racist Drug War with legislation that falls short of equitable reform and delays justice, “said the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.
The Associated Press contributed.