Youngkin Seeks to Reciminalize Young Blacks

Virginia's marijuana laws were long used (deliberately, in my view) to criminalize young blacks who were disproportionately prosecuted for simple possession and - unlike young whites who could afford legal counsel - convicted.  This set the stage for criminal records that made gainful employment more difficult and helped the GOP narrative that black's misfortunes were their own falt. The laws were thankfully changed during the 2021 of the General Assembly and each household was allowed to have up to four (4) plants and individuals can possess small amounts for personal use.  Now, after having been elected after a very disingenous campaign and playing the race card by using the manufactured boggey man of "critical race theory" Glenn Youngking wants to recriminalize certain levels of simple possession which appear to directly conflict with the four plant standard - four plants would definitely exceed two ounces of marijuana and might even add up to a pound of marijuana.  As in the GOP's ugly past, I suspect Youngkin wants to again strive to criminalize as many blacks as possible and have them stricken from the lists of qualified voters.  It is a despicable agenda but such is the nature of today's Republican Party which is dominated by racist white Christofascists and evangelicals.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at Youngkin's insidious efforts.  Here are highlights:

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has proposed increasing the penalty for personal possession of more than two ounces of marijuana in Virginia, less than a year after it became the first state in the South to legalize recreational use.

Youngkin’s amendment would also limit what hemp products can be sold — a change that some CBD sellers saw as a victory compared to the more restrictive bill that came to his desk.

Under the current law, it’s legal for Virginia adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and cultivate up to four plants in their household. Possessing more than one ounce but less than a pound is subject to a civil penalty of $25, while possessing more than a pound is considered a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Youngkin’s proposal would create two new tiers of enforcement: a Class 2 misdemeanor for personal possession of more than two ounces, and a Class 1 misdemeanor for more than six ounces but under a pound. . . . The governor’s amendments for this special session will go to the House and Senate for approval April 27.

Youngkin made the enforcement proposal Monday as an amendment to a bill sponsored by Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta) that was originally intended to regulate the hemp market and prohibit retail marijuana products in the shape of a human, animal, vehicle or fruit.

Some legalization and social equity advocates this week voiced concern about the consequences of adding new criminal offenses for personal possession — especially for Virginia’s communities of color.

Democrats had framed much of their legalization push as a step to limit disparate enforcement of drug laws. Black Americans are arrested at 3.64 times the rate of White people for having marijuana, even though they use it at similar rates, according to an American Civil Liberties Union review of charges between 2010 and 2018.

“This change by the Administration would reactivate the criminalization of marijuana by taking people back to criminal court with the possibility of incarceration,” the Joint CannaJustice Coalition, a group of social-equity and legalization-advocacy organizations, wrote in a statement Tuesday. “This criminalization of a legal substance stops people from accessing housing, increases chances of deportation, and blocks student loan opportunities. Legislating new crimes associated with the possession of marijuana is working away from the priorities of decriminalization.”

“Instead of creating new ways to criminalize Virginians for personal possession of legal cannabis, the administration ought to be focused on establishing a retail market for adult-use marijuana to ensure that products are safe, convenient, affordable and sold only to those 21 and over,” said JM Pedini, development director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and executive director of Virginia NORML.

Said Ebbin, who has been one of the primary voices in Virginia’s legalization push: “While it’s maybe appropriate to establish the intermediate penalty, it seems a little bit harsh to have jail time for people using a legal substance.”

At the same time, advocates who were hoping to see a stronger crackdown on unregulated and synthetic products said the governor’s proposed regulations were too loose. Pedini, of NORML, lamented that the changes, which would only limit Delta-8, would leave the door open for other synthetically modified and extremely potent versions of THC to enter the market.

Virginians made a huge mistake putting Youngkin in office and some of the foolish soccer moms who voted for him may end up seeing the teenage darlings with criminal records.