Virginia Will Be A Leader On Marijuana Legalization In The South, Governor Says

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Friday said the state will lead the way on marijuana legalization in the South, pledging to move forward with a cannabis measure in 2021 that he wants to serve as a model for the region.

“There are 15 or so other states that have moved toward legalizing marijuana,” he said Friday on WAMU radio’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show. “Virginia will be the first in the South, but we tend to be leaders, and now that’s what we’re going to do this year. And we’re going to do it the right way.”

Northam campaigned on cannabis decriminalization but had long declined to take a position on broader adult-use legalization. That changed last week, when he called on state lawmakers to pursue legalization in the coming legislative session.

“Marijuana laws have been based originally in discrimination, and undoing those harms means thins like social equity licenses, access to capital, community reinvestment and sealing or expunging people’s prior records,” he said in coming out for the policy change.