![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-28.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has signed legislation to allow public sector workers like firefighters and teachers to use legal medical marijuana<\/a> without fear of losing their jobs. The move comes days after the governor vetoed separate bills to legalize recreational cannabis sales.<\/p>\n The governor signed HB 149, sponsored by Del. Dan Helmer (D), and SB 391, from Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D), on Monday, his deadline for action on the measures.<\/p>\n The governor, however, also vetoed a separate Senate bill on Monday that would have prevented the use of marijuana alone from being considered evidence of child abuse or neglect<\/a>. Youngkin vetoed the House version of that bill a month ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for employment protections, private workers already are protected in the commonwealth from being fired merely for using legal medical marijuana. But Helmer, who sponsored that law three years ago, has said the bill \u201cunintentionally did not protect public-sector employees.\u201d HB 149<\/a> and SB 391<\/a> will rectify that oversight, extending the protections to positions such as firefighters, maintenance workers and teachers who use cannabis to treat medical conditions or diseases.<\/p>\n Employers will still be able to forbid marijuana use on the job and take disciplinary action against any employee whose work is impaired because of cannabis use. The proposal also will not change current law regarding federal workers.<\/p>\n Initially the House version of the legislation also would have included protections for law enforcement workers, but that provision was removed through an amendment and was made identical to the Senate bill.<\/p>\n JM Pedini, NORML\u2019s development director and the executive director for Virginia NORML, said the new law \u201cwill protect the jobs of these heroes who risk their lives to keep Virginians safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVirginia\u2019s firefighters, emergency services providers, and civil servants across the commonwealth deserve the same job protections currently provided to private employees for their lawful and responsible use of medical cannabis,\u201d Pedini said. \u201cThis is a long overdue victory.\u201d<\/p>\n Public employees testified to lawmakers during the legislative session that workers\u2019 use of medical marijuana has been beneficial, for example replacing prescription opioids and alcohol. Joe Mirabile, a representative of Virginia\u2019s Professional Firefighters, for example, spoke in favor of the proposal during a committee.<\/p>\n \u201cMy members have reported that they\u2019re relying on alcohol far less, they\u2019re sleeping more at home and they\u2019re seeing other positive effects, such as reduction of joint and muscle pain without having to use opioid prescriptions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Complicating the issue for many policymakers is that there\u2019s still no rapid, reliable test to detect cannabis impairment.<\/p>\n The public sector employee protection proposal passed the Senate with strong support\u2014most recently on a 26\u201313 floor vote\u2014and also had broad support in the House, passing floor votes there on 78\u201320 and 82\u201317 margins.<\/p>\n The parental protections bill, SB 115<\/a>, which Youngkin vetoed, would have prevented the state from using legal marijuana use alone as evidence of child abuse<\/a> or neglect. It would have further provided that drug testing in child custody and visitation matters \u201cshall exclude testing for any substance permitted for lawful use by an adult\u201d under the state\u2019s alcohol, cannabis and drug laws.<\/p>\n A person\u2019s \u201clawful possession or consumption\u201d of those substances, it said, \u201cshall not serve as a basis to restrict custody or visitation unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption is not in the best interest of the child.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers sent an expedited version of the proposal to the governor in HB 833, which Youngkin vetoed in early March. SB 115 had identical language but was transmitted after the session adjourned, giving Youngkin\u2019s office more time to act.<\/p>\n Following the veto of HB 833, Del. Rae Cousins (D), the bill\u2019s sponsor, accused the governor of \u201cturning his back on the needs of our children<\/a>\u00a0and neglecting their well-being by encouraging the courts to move forward with unnecessary family separations.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear whether lawmakers might attempt to override the governor\u2019s vetoes. The parental rights bill had overwhelming support in the Senate\u2014passing a floor vote unanimously\u2014but the House was more divided on the proposal, approving it on a 54\u201345 vote mostly along party lines.<\/p>\n \u2014 Late last month, Youngkin vetoed a landmark bill that would have legalized and regulated commercial cannabis sales<\/a> in Virginia, as well as separate legislation to provide resentencing relief for people incarcerated for cannabis.<\/p>\n Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults is already legal in Virginia, the result of a Democrat-led proposal\u00a0approved by lawmakers in 2021<\/a>. But Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor\u2019s office later that year, subsequently blocked the required reenactment of a regulatory framework for retail sales. Since then, illicit stores have sprung up to meet consumer demand.<\/p>\n In his veto message, however, the governor wrote that \u201cthe proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians\u2019 health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAddressing the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in Virginia\u2019s current laws,\u201d Youngkin continued, \u201ddoes not justify expanding access to cannabis, following the failed paths of other states and endangering Virginians\u2019 health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s lead sponsors, Del. Paul Krizek (D) and Sen. Aaron Rouse (D), said the governor\u2019s veto of the sales bill was \u201cdangerous and irresponsible\u201d as well as \u201creckless and negligent.\u201d<\/p>\n But Krizek told Marijuana Moment at the time that despite the veto, he plans to support the reform again next session.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really did craft a wonderful piece of bicameral legislation that even garnered bipartisan support, albeit not as many members as I would have expected, but that was probably due to Governor\u2019s antipathy toward it,\u201d he said last week. \u201cSo, we have a bill we can introduce next session that will only need some minor adjustments (I did see some small improvements we can make) and gives us a head start.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahead of the veto, the governor had hinted at his intentions. About a week earlier, Youngkin told a reporter:\u00a0\u201cAnybody who thinks I\u2019m going to sign that legislation must be smoking something.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Some had higher hopes for Youngkin when he was first elected in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Governor-elect Youngkin previously stating that he would uphold the will of the people, and focus on creating a \u2018rip-roaring economy,\u2019 we are fully confident that he and the people of Virginia will continue to make progress,\u201d Jim Cacioppo, the CEO, chairman and founder of multistate cannabis company Jushi Holdings,\u00a0said in a statement at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an email to Marijuana Moment after last month\u2019s veto, however, Jushi\u2019s chief strategy director, Trent Woloveck, described Youngkin as \u201ca sanctimonious culture warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n A sales bill\u00a0did advance through the Democratic-controlled Senate last session<\/a>, but it stalled in committee in the House, which at the time had a GOP majority.<\/p>\n Florida Marijuana Initiative Will \u2018Improve Quality Of Life\u2019 By Providing Alcohol Alternative, Top Cannabis CEO Says, Pushing Back Against DeSantis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Virginia Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Workplace Protection Bill For Firefighters And Other Public Sector Workers<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has signed legislation to allow public sector workers like firefighters and teachers to use legal medical marijuana without fear of losing their jobs. The move comes days after the governor vetoed separate bills to legalize recreational cannabis sales. The governor signed HB 149, sponsored byContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":73878,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73877"}],"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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73879,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73877\/revisions\/73879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-27.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: Virginia Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Workplace Protection Bill For Firefighters And Other Public Sector Workers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"