Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has great news for Virginians that occasionally like to relax by getting high – and also drive to work!
After signing new legislation on Monday, individuals caught with personal amounts of cannabis will no longer automatically have their driver’s license suspended as punishment for their minor marijuana infraction.
Taking effect on July 1, 2017, S.B 1091 allows Virginia’s justices to exercise sentencing discretion for adults convicted of simple possession. A mandatory penalty no more, individual judges will no longer automatically suspend the driver’s license of an adult convicted of personal marijuana possession – but there are a few caveats.
First and foremost, juveniles caught with personal amounts of marijuana will still face an automatic six-month suspension of their driving privileges, according to the bill’s summary.
“The exception applies only to adults; juveniles will still be subject to license suspension. The bill provides that a court retains the discretion to suspend or revoke the driver’s license of a person placed on deferred disposition for simple possession of marijuana and must suspend or revoke for six months the driver’s license of such person who was operating a motor vehicle at the time of the offense.”
Applicable to only first-time offenders, the court will also mandate the alleged 420 fan undergo a substance abuse assessment and enter a treatment/education program. Still on the hook financially, “the court shall require the person entering such a program under the provisions of this section to pay all or part of the costs of the program, including the costs of the screening, assessment, testing, and treatment.”
Not all jobs require a driver’s license, but most good ones do.
While the governor’s signature on SB 1091 represents solid progress for some, America’s antiquated battle in the War on Drugs continues to disproportionately crush the poor and disenfranchised. Measured in dollars spent and lives wasted annually, allowing Virginia’s first-time marijuana offenders to keep their driver’s license – and their jobs – smells like incremental progress to me.
Credit: marijuana.com
