In Virginia Beach, Virginia, local law enforcement leaders say the vast majority of drug-related crime is tied to marijuana. Advocates for legalization counter that the situation could be remedied by regulating cannabis, which is currently legal to possess in small amounts but remains a crime to sell.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere you may think it will be heroin, you may think it will be cocaine, methamphetamine, nope. It\u2019s marijuana,\u201d Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate told local ABC affiliate 13 News Now in a recent interview. \u201cWe have young men losing their lives in this community today over 200 dollars\u2019 worth of marijuana. Marijuana drives a lot of my shooting violence, it drives a lot of my robbery violence, and it drives a lot of my homicide violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The station reported that Neudigate said that \u201c90 percent of the city\u2019s illegal drug-related crime is fueled by marijuana,\u201d though the actual data on Virginia Beach\u2019s crime rates were not included.<\/p>\n
Sen. Aaron Rouse (D), who sponsored the Senate version of a bill this year that would have legalized and regulated retail sales of marijuana in the commonwealth<\/a>, said the reform would have helped reduced violence around cannabis supply.<\/p>\n \u201cOur young people are killing each other over something where we could attempt to mitigate those interactions by regulating marijuana,\u201d he told the station.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere you have a structured market, where you can regulate, you can enforce and you can tax cannabis sales,\u201d Rouse added<\/a>, \u201cwhat that does is drive out the black market.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to 13 News Now, a spokesperson for Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who vetoed Rouse\u2019s bill, reiterated the governor\u2019s opposition to regulating retail sales.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of following the failed paths of other states and endangering Virginians\u2019 health and safety, Governor Youngkin will continue to address the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in Virginia\u2019s current laws which don\u2019t justify expanding access to cannabis,\u201d the office said.<\/p>\n \u201cEfforts by other states to regulate the black-market for cannabis have largely failed because legalizing weed does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, ensure product safety, and have fallen short of revenue expectations and forecasts,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n Jason Blanchette, president of the Virginia Cannabis Association, refuted those claims.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do see a reduction in crime. You do see a reduction in gun violence,\u201d he told the station, referring to states that regulate marijuana sales. \u201cBecause most people, for the extra $5, $7, $10 per purchase, are going to much rather purchase from a reliable source.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s simple \u2013 and we know the solution. A legal retail marijuana market would reduce violent crime in our city and across the Commonwealth. It\u2019s past time to get it done. pic.twitter.com\/4UCdwiz5DX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Rouse (@AaronRouseVA) June 4, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Though the legislature passed the retail sales bill this session, Youngkin rejected it in March<\/a>, claiming in a veto message that states that have legalized \u201chave seen adverse effects on children\u2019s and adolescent\u2019s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor wrote in his four-page veto message: \u201cAttempting to rectify the error of decriminalizing marijuana by establishing a safe and regulated marketplace is an unachievable goal. The more prudent approach would be to revisit the issue of discrepancies in enforcement, not compounding the risks and endangering Virginians\u2019 health and safety with greater market availability.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic senators said the veto means it\u2019s likely legal stores won\u2019t open in Virginia until 2027 or later<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lawmakers, including Rouse, also warned in the wake of the veto that denying legal retail sales would only fuel the illegal market<\/a>. He and the bill\u2019s lead House sponsor, Del. Paul Krizek (D), at the time called the governor\u2019s veto \u201cdangerous and irresponsible\u201d as well as \u201creckless and negligent.\u201d<\/p>\n Krizek said in the statement that the governor\u2019s \u201cfailure to act allows an already thriving illegal cannabis market to persist, fueling criminal activity and endangering our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n The failure to establish a legal retail marijuana market is a threat to public safety in our commonwealth, especially here in Virginia Beach. In Virginia Beach, 90% of the city’s illegal drug-related crime is fueled by marijuana, driving much of the city’s shooting violence.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eafHFictgL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Rouse (@AaronRouseVA) May 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\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 Hope was high among supporters last year that Democrats retaking control of both chambers of the state legislature would breathe new life into the retail sales legalization effort. But despite the party\u2019s victories in November, even the bill\u2019s sponsors had acknowledged the possibility of a Youngkin veto before the measure was sent to his desk.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, Krizek told Marijuana Moment after the bill died that its passage by the legislature still marked progress for Virginia. And he signaled he\u2019d again support the reform 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. \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 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 the veto, however, Jushi\u2019s chief strategy director, Trent Woloveck, described Youngkin as \u201ca sanctimonious culture warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor this year also greeted less controversial marijuana reforms coldly. Earlier in March, for example, he vetoed a separate proposal that would have prevented the state from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect despite the measure winning unanimous or near-unanimous approval in votes on the Senate floor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following that action, Del. Rae Cousins (D), the bill\u2019s sponsor,\u00a0accused 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 \u201cWe have seen how this is playing out in our courts; with Black and Brown families receiving harsher mandates from our judges for legal and responsible substance use,\u201d the lawmaker said. \u201cFamily separation has devastating effects both on our communities and on the well-being of children, and by vetoing this legislation, Governor Youngkin is telling our courts that they can continue to unnecessarily tear children away from their parents.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point earlier this session, it appeared the retail cannabis bill could become part of a grand deal between Youngkin and legislative Democrats. In December, Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas (D) alluded to a compromise involving a sports stadium project the governor supported<\/a>. But that deal never materialized, and Democrats\u00a0left the governor\u2019s proposed arena plan out of budget legislation<\/a>, at which point the little remaining hope for the stadium deal fell through.<\/p>\n One day before his cannabis veto, Youngkin said in a\u00a0statement\u00a0that the stadium project had \u201cgone up in smoke\u201d after the city of Alexandria halted negotiations around the proposal\u2014a possible nod to the would-be deal\u2019s implications for his support of the marijuana measure.<\/p>\n Supporters of the sales bill, such as Rouse and Krizek, repeatedly emphasized the bill would not create a cannabis market in Virginia but instead regulate the state\u2019s existing illicit market, which some estimates have valued at nearly $3 billion.<\/p>\n The legislation sent to Youngkin would have begun licensing marijuana businesses later this year, with sales slated to kick off on May 1, 2025. Sales to adults 21 and older of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana flower would be allowed, with purchases taxed at 11.625 percent. Local governments could have banned marijuana establishments, but only with the support of local voters.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Virginia\u2019s lawmaker-passed retail\u00a0sales<\/a>\u00a0legislation<\/a>\u00a0would have done:<\/strong><\/p>\n After Youngkin\u2019s veto of the bill, a national Democratic Party group bashed what it called the governor\u2019s \u201charmful opposition to marijuana reform\u201d ahead of the 4\/20 cannabis holiday, drawing attention to the Republican governor\u2019s vetoes of bills to legalize retail sales and reduce sentences<\/a>\u00a0around past marijuana crimes.<\/p>\n In a statement tied to the 4\/20 cannabis holiday and shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), which focuses on electing Democrats to state legislatures, said Youngkin \u201ccontinues to hold Virginia back and block the progress made by Democrats in control of the legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, meanwhile, Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Shelton said her agency had received a sufficient number of reports of minors getting sick from cannabis products that the commonwealth would create a \u201cspecial surveillance system\u201d<\/a> to track the issue.<\/p>\n Marijuana Rolling Paper Company Will Pay $4.20 To Volunteers To \u2018Smoke Joints For Science\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Virginia Senator Says Legalizing Marijuana Sales Would Address Police Chief\u2019s Concerns About Violent Illegal Market<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In Virginia Beach, Virginia, local law enforcement leaders say the vast majority of drug-related crime is tied to marijuana. Advocates for legalization counter that the situation could be remedied by regulating cannabis, which is currently legal to possess in small amounts but remains a crime to sell. \u201cWhere you mayContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"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\/76193"}],"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=76193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76194,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76193\/revisions\/76194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Virginia Senator Says Legalizing Marijuana Sales Would Address Police Chief\u2019s Concerns About Violent Illegal Market<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"