Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Were Virginia Lawmakers Stoned When They Legalized Pot?

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by

James A. Bacon
in

by Kerry Dougherty

No one ever accused the current members of the Virginia General Assembly of crafting elegant laws.

But the new bill that legalized marijuana this week is so confusing that the lawmakers must have been stoned when they wrote it.

The measure was supposed to take effect on January 1, 2024, with a framework in place for regulating, selling and taxing marijuana. But the majority in the General Assembly couldn’t wait that long so they concocted a cockamamie plan that divided the legalization into two ridiculous parts.

As of Thursday it became perfectly legal for anyone over 21 in Virginia to possess up to one ounce of pot.

But it won’t be legal to BUY marijuana in Virginia until January 1, 2024. By then, the rules governing the sale and distribution will be crafted by the governor-appointed Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.

Sort of like the parole board, only with the munchies.

So we are left with this vague, unsatisfactory law that says it’s legal to possess weed, but Virginians can neither sell it nor buy it.

Question is, how the heck are marijuana lovers supposed to secure the newly legal product?

Answer: Same place they always have, from their local dealer, who is breaking the law to sell it to them.

Of course a friend can share his or her stash, but it’s illegal to pay or barter for it. And where do you suppose that friend got his dope?

Of course you can always grow your own. Every adult Virginian is permitted to have four marijuana plants as long as they’re labeled and out of sight.

Fair enough, but where do Virginians get seeds?

From a dealer, of course, who will be breaking the law to sell them.

Or, one can go to a “seed sharing” event like the one in Richmond on Thursday. Would-be cultivators lined up for hours to get their hands on “legally donated” six seeds each outside a CBD store. I hope they’re the patient type. According to growweedeasy.com it takes three to five months for a marijuana plant to mature.

Lawmakers hoped that by legalizing marijuana they would put the underground market out of business.

But until 2024, when licenses will be issued and retail rules will be in place, it will be a very good time to illegally deal drugs in the Old Dominion.

This column has been republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.

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46 responses to “Were Virginia Lawmakers Stoned When They Legalized Pot?”

  1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “The measure was supposed to take effect on January 1, 2024, with a framework in place for regulating, selling and taxing marijuana.”

    Typical… a Conservative lamenting that drug use is legalized before a structured and complex governmental system is in place to regulate and control it. It’s no longer even surprising when you read it.

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      I think we have figured out what freebie to offer to get the vaccination numbers up….Even Bacon’s YAF college kids will stand in line for a one ounce baggie…

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        Now you’re talking!!

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Hey Steve, an ounce ain’t $20 like back in our day. Maybe give away a joint, or handful of roaches.

      3. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        What are you, some kind of wasteful tax and spend liberal!? A quarter ounce will provide plenty of motivation for any college kid to go get vaccinated…

        1. Stephen Haner Avatar
          Stephen Haner

          OK…

  2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    Brilliant! Give the black market a head start on the Va Pot ABC people.

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      The black market has about a 100 year head start already.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      The history of America is the Black Market. And no, that’s not a slavery reference. We were exceptionally good at counterfeiting just about everything as we entered the world market.

  3. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    I am perplexed at times with folks who claim to be Conservatives with a Libertarian streak – when it comes to “my body, my right” and controlled substances.

    Do we support the “right” of people to use pot, or even oxycodone or do we support the idea that the govt SHOULD decide what is not good for you and not only restrict it but put you in jail if you embrace those things.

    I think that does explain to a certain extent how legislators both left and right get tangled up in “rules” that walk the line between “ok” and “not okay”

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Well, this Frankenpot bill they’ve passed goes way beyond “tangled”. But I have never favored criminal sanctions for personal use or simple possession. I think the line if you try to draw it involves the true danger of the drug involved, and no question the opiates are deadly. No deaths from pot overdoses I’m aware of. LSD and similar drugs often cause permanent mental health issues. And of course too much alcohol can and does kill people all the time, but it usually takes an overdose or the bad judgement of then trying to drive.

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Buy it online from Amsterdam. There are good seed dealerships located there.

    As to possession v distribution? It’s to end the incarcerations for possession.

  5. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    “No one ever accused the current members of the Virginia General Assembly of crafting elegant laws.”

    To be fair, no one ever accused previous members of the Virginia General Assembly of crafting elegant laws, either – at least not in the last 200 years or so.

  6. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    “Question is, how the heck are marijuana lovers supposed to secure the newly legal product?”

    Grow it.

  7. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    OK, Kerry. What would you do? The GA at first delayed legalization until 2024, when the regulatory framework is in place, but lots of folks protested the idea of people being arrested and charged with something about which the GA has made the decision should not be a crime. So, the amended the bill to come up with this awkward situation. Another alternative would have been to legalize it with no regulation. I sort of prefer that, as a matter of fact. Is that what you would prefer, Kerry?

  8. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
    energyNOW_Fan

    People are willing to smoke despite ten quadrillion particulates into their lungs. but it is modern cars putting out near zero pollution that must be banned, for fear if a single particulate escaping. Oh the horror.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      If you vape THC ….and especially not 24/7, but on particulates, it’s not exposure in 5 or 10 minute intervals – it’s longer term,over time and especially if you live where there is continuous, even 24/7 traffic putting it into the air.

      Google – “Non-attainment regions particulate matter”..

      or go to:
      https://www.epa.gov/green-book

      1. Brian Leeper Avatar
        Brian Leeper

        Well, now that there’s no deterrent to hacking off the mufflers and catalytic converter, thanks to Virginia Democrats (at least previously, someone could get pulled over for that…), we now have more noise pollution and smog.

        Thanks again, Virginia Democrats.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          EPA is national law…no?

          the catalytic converter thing is also national, no?

          1. Brian Leeper Avatar
            Brian Leeper

            You think local law enforcement is enforcing EPA law? They don’t. You think EPA sends Federal agents out to Hooterville to bust Cletus for his straight-piped pickup? They don’t (usually. If they do, you can bet it’s because Cletus got on the wrong side of a Fed…)

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            No, but they do have laws and rules they enforce on manufacturing and vehicles – ergo the catalytic converters and reformulated gasoline, etc., no?

          3. Brian Leeper Avatar
            Brian Leeper

            How does any of that help when someone defeats the emissions control devices by removing them???

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            well, if they gotta get a state inspection, bad darts…. no?

          5. Brian Leeper Avatar
            Brian Leeper

            The state safety inspections are largely a joke.

            The emissions inspections only apply to some counties in Northern Virginia, although I noticed, a couple of years ago, they have had to install cameras on the emissions testing equipment.

            Seems there was a big problem with (1) people who aren’t certified emissions testers running the test, so there’s a camera facing the operator, and (2) substitute vehicles were being tested, so there’s a camera facing the vehicle.

          6. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Ya, I don’t doubt it but I also don’t doubt that if someone shows up with the catalytic converter completely gone – and a state inspector passes it, that he may well get found out and lose his license and endanger his/her livelihood as a certified mechanic.

            The bigger picture here is why there are emission rules to start with and that goes back to air quality monitoring – done by EPA/DEQ to ascertain the air quality in the region including particulate matter which is dirties and affects health in urban areas where there is a lot of vehicular traffic.

            You may or may not remember the SOG issue in our urban areas a decade or two back… that is what motivated the increased restrictions.

            Northern Va is much cleaner than it was but it still have bad air quality days primarily due to vehicle emissions.

            Children, elderly and people with health conditions are affected by poor air quality which includes particulate matter.

            https://www3.epa.gov/region1/airquality/pm-human-health.html

          7. Brian Leeper Avatar
            Brian Leeper

            Several years ago there was a shop in Manassas that lost their license to do safety inspections. They weren’t actually doing the inspection, just slapping a sticker on the vehicle.

            The only way they ever got caught is that they were using far more stickers per day than would be possible if they were actually doing inspections.

            Had they limited the number of stickers they were using, they might STILL be performing non-inspections.

            Here you go. Watch this, and then tell you that you really think Virginia’s safety inspections are any better than New York’s:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEcjo5tpYGI&ab_channel=SouthMainAutoRepairLLC

          8. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Okay, you think Va inspections are not as tight as other states?

          9. Brian Leeper Avatar
            Brian Leeper

            I haven’t dealt with inspections in other states, however, from what I know it is trivially easy to get a bogus Virginia safety inspection if you know the right people…

  9. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    There’s nothing sadder than liberals insisting that government be expanded through confiscatory taxation while that same government is observably incompetent and negligent.

    Four years from decriminalization to legalized dispensaries? For the record, the United States fought and won WWII faster than that.

    Many, many states have already legalized the sale of marijuana. But the fools in our state government can’t walk through the experiences of the other states and get dispensaries up and running in a reasonable amount of time.

    Meanwhile, DC will have legal dispensaries by this Fall. That means about 3 million Virginians will be able to buy pot in DC and pay taxes to DC. Meanwhile, the asshats in Richmond will insist that they need more money to spend while they stumble and bumble to implementing the simple matter of opening dispensaries.

    The final irony in this tale of governmental incompetence is that Virginians can buy intoxicating THC legally right now. A variant of THC known as delta-8 is perfectly legal, sold in various stores and will definitely get you high.

    Your government in action. Brought to you via the corrupt BigAg special interest Farm Bill and Republican Mitch McConnell.

    Somebody ought to get some delta-8 gummies and send them to Richmond and the feds in DC.

    Seeing the clowns stoned on legal THC they don’t even know exists would bring some levity to the sad fact that our government spends almost 40% of the nation’s GDP on one act of buffoonery after another.

    https://www.popsci.com/science/delta-8-thc/

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      For all you wizards in Richmond – there are plenty of places to buy intoxicating THC in places like Henrico County.

      https://www.binoidcbd.com/blogs/news/buy-delta-8-thc-virginia

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      So is legalizing pot a Conservative idea or a Liberal one?

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Libertarian. However, Oklahoma had no problem legalizing pot so I guess that even conservative states can “get it”.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          other controlled substances? Conservatives claim they support personal freedom but when it comes to drugs – they often do not and they flop over to Law & Order!

          You can see on this Blog how many Conservatives who claim to have Libertarian streaks – are really not in favor of legalizing pot much less harder drugs.

          And what do the “my body , my choice” folks think?

    3. Brian Leeper Avatar
      Brian Leeper

      The events of the last couple of years, as well as one that happened around 150 years ago, should make it obvious that Virginia government was, is, and likely always will be a logistical failure.

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        The level of failure over many years by the Virginia state government is simply stunning.

        1. Brian Leeper Avatar
          Brian Leeper

          And they still think their feces aren’t odiferous.

          1. DJRippert Avatar
            DJRippert

            They are self-mocking without even knowing it. Sad.

    4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      Don’t let this happen to you. I will pick on you forever!
      https://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7cbzuLQMV1qc3oq1o1_r2_500.gif

  10. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    Write a one page memo with policy points and ask Amazon to set up the dispensary franchises. They’ll be up and running by Labor Day.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      So who would oppose that – Liberals or Conservatives or Libertarians and wannabe Libertarians?

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Liberals would oppose it because they generally dislike free enterprise and big business. Liberals love big government and any expansion of that government is seen as a good thing.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Liberals oppose legalizing Pot? I think you’re starting to look like a Zebra in a herd of wildebeast!

          😉

          Legalization of POT would go NOWHERE if the GOP were in the majority – yet you like the GOP…and abhor Liberals. Very mixed up!

    2. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      “Write a one page memo with policy points and ask Amazon to set up the dispensary franchises.”

      Nope. Can’t so that, at least not directly. State law requires that such services be competitively procured.

      😉

  11. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    “As of Thursday it became perfectly legal for anyone over 21 in Virginia to possess up to one ounce of pot.”

    “Of course you can always grow your own. Every adult Virginian is permitted to have four marijuana plants as long as they’re labeled and out of sight.”

    Under ideal conditions a single marijuana plant can yield 17.5 ounces of smokable marijuana. 4 plants would be 70 ounces.

    So, which part of the law applies?

    https://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/marijuana-cannabis-yield-how-much/#:~:text=Under%20perfect%20conditions%2C%20you%20can,or%2015%20gallons%20in%20size.

  12. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Ya’ll are all bound up over POT. You’re missing the BIG news:

    Ban on pet box turtles takes effect in Virginia

    Generations of Virginians have taken box turtles from forests and yards to keep as pets.

    As of today, that’s illegal.

    Experts say the docile, colorful turtles are in decline, and new state regulations taking effect ban turning them into pets. The rules also impose tough restrictions on keeping common native reptiles and amphibians, such as garter snakes and bullfrogs.

    Under the new rules, anyone who keeps a pet box turtle or keeps more than one common reptile or amphibian could be found guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and fined up to $500, according to the wildlife department. At the department’s discretion, the possession of multiple animals over the limits could represent multiple offenses. For example, having three box turtles could draw fines totaling $1,500. And the owner’s animals could be confiscated.

    wait… wait… I hear a rumbling… Conservatives UNITE – government has gone TOO FAR this time!

  13. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    How much do you wanna bet Altria ends up as the number stake holder in pot cultivation and dispensary?

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