NORFOLK, VA (WAVY) – The public has until Friday to give feedback to the Virginia State Crime Commission regarding the decriminalization of marijuana.
The state is collecting feedback as part of an ongoing study that will be presented at a meeting schedule for Oct. 30.
The debate around softening penalties for simple possession has gained momentum since Councilman Paul Riddick spoke out in favor last summer.
“You could get up to 10 years in prison for a half-ounce of marijuana,” said Cindy Cutler, an activist who supports fines for small amount of marijuana as opposed to a criminal charge.
“The punishment does not meet the crime.”
Cutler, who has spent four years studying the issue, says marijuana charges lead to cities spending millions of dollars in housing inmates.
Dr. Brian Payne, a sociology and criminology professor at Old Dominion University, says changing state law might not be so simple.
“It’s a political issue,” said Dr. Payne. “There’s a longstanding belief that drug use is wrong and that it is immoral. There are people who believe that. There are people that belief that marijuana is a gateway drug and it leads to other type of drug use.”
Payne says the ongoing State Crime Commission study indicates a proactive strategy to fully vet the issue before making a recommendation.
“I wouldn’t see it as a sure fire sign that it is going to happen, but the willingness to study it signifies there is an awareness that there is a possibility.”
In 2016, Norfolk police arrested 587 people for marijuana possession and Newport News police arrested another 596 people.
Cutler says the racial disparity in arrests is what fuels her activism. The American Civil Liberties Union says African-Americans are three times more likely to get arrested for marijuana possession.
“We’ve allowed 80 years of bad policy to overpopulate our jails and prisons and disproportionately harm people of color, the poor and the mentally ill.”
Supporters say decriminalization is the first step towards possibly regulating and taxing marijuana in the future.
The State Crime Commission is accepting public comment on decriminalization until Friday at 5 p.m. The public can send written letters to their office or send an email to vsccinfo@vscc.virginia.gov.
credit:virginiafirst.com
