Black People Still More Likely to Be Arrested for Cannabis Crimes in Virginia

October 20, 2022 · Ganjapreneur

Black people are still more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related crimes in Virginia despite adult-use legalization, the Washington Post reports. The reforms took effect July 1, 2021, and while arrests for cannabis have dropped overall, Black adults accounted for nearly 60% of such cases before the state’s district and circuit courts, according to the Post analysis.  

Black people account for about 20% of Virginia’s population. The bulk of the arrests is for distribution as legal sales have not yet commenced in the state. During the first year of legalization, possession of more than an ounce was a civil penalty carrying a $25 fine; however, following his election, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed and signed into law a bill creating misdemeanor charges for possession of more than four ounces.   

The Post’s data was from a list of more than 1,700 cannabis-related code citations between July 1, 2021, and the end of June this year, provided by the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Office of the Executive Secretary in response to a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request. The analysis found, overall, cannabis-related citations dropped about 90% in Virginia from 2019. 

According to the Post analysis, Chesterfield County General District Court had the second highest number of arrests in the state behind Virginia Beach General District Court. In Chesterfield, Black defendants comprised 71% of the court’s 110 cannabis-related cases in the year following legalization. In the state’s most populous county, Fairfax, Black defendants made up just over 30% of the 108 cannabis-related cases in the year following legalization, the report says. 

In 2019, there were more than 26,000 cannabis-related arrests in Virginia. In 2020, that figure dropped to about 13,000 and fell to just over 2,000 in 2021, which included the six months after the adult-use reforms took effect.   Full Story

In categories:Legal Politics
Next Post

No Surprise: Russian Court Rejects Brittney Griner's Appeal, Sends Her to Penal Colony

Brittney Griner will not be coming home for the holidays. In a disappointing decision on October 25, the WNBA star who was arrested for cannabis possession in Russia in February and convicted and sentenced to nine years in jail in August, lost her appeal and has…
Read
Previous Post

Cannabis Bill addresses all concerns raised by Democrat and Pheu Thai parties

The Cannabis Bill, which has been reviewed by the House Scrutiny Committee, addresses all the concerns raised by both the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties, said Suphachai Jaismut, head of the committee and a party-list MP for the Bhumjaithai Party.…
Read
Random Post

California Launches Grant Program to Expand Retail Cannabis Access

California cannabis regulators have launched a $20 million grant program aimed at expanding consumer access to licensed cannabis products. The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) last week launched a $20 million grant program to expand consumer access to regulated…
Read
Random Post

‘Seeds of Change’ report rates states on cannabis equity, finds most lacking

A new report published today—Seeds of Change: Strategies to create an equitable cannabis industry—finds a majority of legal adult-use states lack the laws and policies needed to create a fair and equitable cannabis industry. “Seeds of Change” is a multifaceted…
Read
Random Post

Oklahomans vote on recreational marijuana March 7

For anyone traveling northwest toward Oklahoma on the Garrison Avenue bridge leaving Fort Smith, the first business seen just to the west of the Fort Smith Stock Yards in Moffett, Oklahoma has an inflatable sign that whips the word marijuana…
Read
Random Post

Sweetly Baked, gourmet CBD infused bakery, launches mobile dessert bar

Sweetly Baked, a Milwaukee gourmet CBD and small-batch bakery, is launching a mobile dessert bar. Delicious single-serve treats like macarons, cookies, and mini cakes will be available for purchase from the mobile dessert bar at both public and private events…
Read