Virginia to legalize possession of marijuana

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill that legalizes the simple possession of marijuana, making the state the first in the US south to allow the drug's recreational use. 

The bill, signed a day after April 20 — the unofficial marijuana holiday— allows anyone in the state 21 or older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana beginning July 1.

The initiative aims to tackle racial disparities in the prosecution of marijuana-related crimes. 

"We are moving forward in a way that promotes equity, provides a clean slate to those with prior convictions, and reinvests in the communities harmed by over-criminalization," Governor Northam wrote on Twitter.

What is marijuana policing linked with race?

Northam quoted a report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission that showed Black residents were more than three times as likely to be arrested for possessing small amounts of the drug.

Marijuana legalization advocates say the change would right criminal justice wrongs, eliminate illegal market activity and generate additional tax revenue when they've pushed for overhauling state cannabis laws.

One of them, NORML, a pro-marijuana group, celebrated the decision as an "extraordinary victory for cannabis justice" in the state.

Which US states have legalized cannabis?

Virginia aims to start licensing commercial cannabis production and sales by July 2024. With the most recent bill, it will become one of over a dozen US states recreational marijuana use is legal.

Last week, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation that makes recreational marijuana use legal for adults aged 21 and older in the state. The bill also allows for minor cannabis offenses to be expunged from criminal records. 

On a larger scale, the US House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation that lets banks provide services to cannabis companies in states where their business is legal.

mna/dj (Reuters)