The move to decriminalize cannabis possession in Virginia is long overdue. We applaud the legislature and the governor for implementing a policy that will allow law enforcement to focus resources on more serious crimes and prevent Virginians from having their lives derailed for possessing cannabis, a substance that is safer than alcohol.
Continuing to exclude the cannabis industry from accessing basic and essential financial services during this time will result in more harm than good. Not only will it make the country’s economic recovery that much harder, but the provisions intended to help minority-owned businesses would continue to be absent within the industry.
A number of states that we had been optimistic that legalization could happen are only focusing on coronavirus relief. We hoped this would have been a record year for marijuana legalization.
Advocates, stakeholders and lawmakers have been pushing for some form of cannabis reform to be inserted into COVID-19 legislation. The inclusion of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which was previously passed by the House as a standalone bill last year, represents a significant victory to that end. That said, it is unclear how the issue will fare in the Senate, whether as part of the COVID-19 response or otherwise.
States that have legalized recreational marijuana don’t seem likely to regret it. YouGov asked more than 32,000 Americans whether they believe recreational marijuana legislation has been more of a success or failure in the states that have legalized it. In many states where recreational cannabis is legal, a plurality of citizens believes these laws have been more of a success than a failure overall.
According to the Marijuana Policy Project, there are approximately 3.09 million medical cannabis patients in the United States. These patients need medical cannabis to help them function in their daily lives, and that need does not go away just because the U.S. is in the midst of a global pandemic.
House leadership unveiled a coronavirus relief bill on Tuesday that includes provisions to protect banks that service marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators.
"I think between coronavirus and election season, we are in the bottom of the ninth," said Don Murphy, Marijuana Policy Project’s director of federal policies and a former Republican state lawmaker. "We do not have a whole lot of time for the other stuff."
“There’s no question that S. 54 would create jobs, produce tax revenue and be beneficial for Vermont’s economy,” Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment. “The legislature should make this bill a priority later in the summer, and Gov. Scott should agree to support it.”