{"id":48861,"date":"2021-07-14T13:47:29","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T21:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/07\/14\/virginia-governor-too-busy-to-smoke-marijuana-following-legalization-he-says\/"},"modified":"2021-07-14T19:45:21","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T03:45:21","slug":"virginia-governor-too-busy-to-smoke-marijuana-following-legalization-he-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/07\/14\/virginia-governor-too-busy-to-smoke-marijuana-following-legalization-he-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Governor Too \u2018Busy\u2019 To Smoke Marijuana Following Legalization, He Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The governor of Virginia said on Tuesday that he has not consumed marijuana since the state\u2019s legalization law took effect earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At least not yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to ask you, have you smoked marijuana since it became legal?\u201d Andy Fox of WAVY-TV asked<\/a> the governor at a press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t,\u201d Northam, who ceremonially signed legalization into law<\/a> in April, said. \u201cI\u2019ve been very busy at my job making sure we\u2019re the number one state in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

After Northam pivoted to discussing the serious reasons for enacting legalization\u2014including racial justice\u2014the reporter made sure to point out that \u201cserious people smoke marijuana, just for the record about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of July 1, public possession of up to one ounce of cannabis by adults over 21 is legal in Virginia, and personal cultivation of up to four plants at home is also allowed. Private sharing of up to an ounce of marijuana between adults is also legal, as long as no remuneration is involved.<\/p>\n

Northam isn\u2019t the only governor who\u2019s expressed openness to indulging marijuana following a state-level policy change.<\/p>\n

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said last month that \u201ctime will tell\u201d when asked by a reporter if people can \u201cexpect to see the governor smoking a joint\u201d after legalization goes into effect in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot right now, but we\u2019ll see\u201d<\/a> Lamont said.<\/p>\n

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) raised some eyebrows in 2018 when he said in an interview that he grows cannabis himself. But then a spokesperson for his office denied that he actually personally cultivates marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These might be light comments from officials in power, but they also represent a significant departure from the norm. It\u2019s hard to imagine even a few years ago that the top leaders of states would play coy with questions around personal cannabis use. But we\u2019re also now in an era where the U.S. Senate majority leader has introduced legislation to federally legalize marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On another more serious note,\u00a0a website launched by Virginia regulators<\/a> last month states that \u201call records of misdemeanor possession with intent to distribute marijuana arrests, charges, and convictions will be automatically sealed from public view in the Virginia State Police\u2019s systems\u201d as well.<\/p>\n

Regulators will soon be developing rules for adult-use retail establishments, which cannot open until January 1, 2024.<\/p>\n

Most of the legal cannabis sales provisions of the law are subject to reenactment by the legislature under the final deal agreed to by lawmakers earlier this year, meaning that the timeline could end up shifting after the next legislative session.<\/p>\n

\n

Biden Remains Opposed To Marijuana Legalization, White House Says Minutes After Senators Unveil New Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Lawson.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Virginia Governor Too \u2018Busy\u2019 To Smoke Marijuana Following Legalization, He Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Virginia Governor Too \u2018Busy\u2019 To Smoke Marijuana Following Legalization, He Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The governor of Virginia said on Tuesday that he has not consumed marijuana since the state\u2019s legalization law took effect earlier this month. At least not yet. \u201cI have to ask you, have you smoked marijuana since it became legal?\u201d Andy Fox of WAVY-TV asked the governor at a pressContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48862,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48861\/revisions\/48862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}