House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, backs a bill that eases penalties for small amounts of pot.
Possessing small amounts of marijuana in Virginia could soon no longer carry jail time or the potential of a criminal conviction under legislation cleared by a House panel Wednesday.
The legislation would levy a $25 civil fine for people found with less than a half-ounce of marijuana. It would also seal criminal records related to the simple possession of marijuana, with some exceptions.
A bill that would have faced dire odds in a Republican controlled legislature has faced hefty opposition from criminal justice advocates, who argued before the panel Wednesday that the legislation does not address the racial disparity in marijuana enforcement that exists across the state.
The ACLU of Virginia and other groups have opposed the legislation, favoring bills to legalize simple possession. Those efforts were shut down by the House Courts of Justice committee Wednesday, which passed on several legalization proposals from lawmakers like Dels. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, Lee Carter, D-Manassas, and Steve Heretick, D-Portsmouth.
No legalization bills were filed in the Senate, killing the chances of such a measure. The House committee voted to refer the topic for study to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which creates reports for lawmakers on issues of public concern.
House Majority Leader Charniele Herring of Alexandria, who chairs the committee and sponsored the decriminalization legislation, called the bill “an important first step in minimizing the racial disparities” in the criminal justice system.
“I recognize that decriminalization will not eliminate racial disparities surrounding marijuana,” Herring said of H.B. 972.
“It will prevent low-level offenders from receiving jail time for simple possession, which is not only something that disproportionately affects people of color — incarcerating people for those low-level offenses is costly for the commonwealth.”
Ashna Khana with the ACLU of Virginia said the passage of the bill does not represent progress on the issue.
She said the organization was particularly concerned with provisions in the bill that “further criminalize” young people by deeming minors found in possession of marijuana “delinquent” and subjecting them to the suspension of their driver’s license.
“Lawmakers cannot claim progress on marijuana reform while still knowing that it will lead to greater racial disparities,” she said. “We cannot continue to leave black and brown communities out of the solution.”
Herring’s bill, which has companion legislation in the Senate filed by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, is backed by the administration of Gov. Ralph Northam, who said in December he favors studying legalization before moving forward on the issue.
The bill defines simple possession, or possession “for personal use,” as anything below a half-ounce of marijuana, or about 14 grams. An average joint contains a third to a half of a gram, according to academic and federal estimates.
Right now, possession of that amount could result in a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. A second arrest could result in a $2,500 fine, driver’s license suspension and up to a year in jail.
Herring’s bill would also ban law enforcement agencies from reporting summons of simple marijuana possession to the state’s hub for personal criminal data. It also bans driver’s license suspension for the offense.
The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for an employer — including the state or local governments — or educational institution to require an applicant to disclose any criminal history related to simple marijuana possession.
The bill passed in a 12-8 vote along party lines. Carroll Foy did not cast a vote. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, said the bill is important progress on the issue, even if it doesn’t address all of the concerns of many opponents.
“We are making, I hope, enough of a stride in the right direction,” Mullin said. “And sometimes I wish we could go farther. But we are making great efforts to go in that direction. And I personally hope that we can achieve in the next year legalization of marijuana here in this commonwealth.”
