Virginia Public Radio, WVTF: Sen. Tim Kaine Signs On To Legislation To Decriminalize Marijuana

drug policypoliticscriminal justice
Written By Matt Laslo

By Matt Laslo

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine surprised many political watchers when he tossed his support behind a new bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

Marijuana remains illegal in Virginia, but Senator Kaine still wants the state to be protected from federal enforcement if the governor and the legislature decide to decriminalize marijuana in the Commonwealth. That’s why Kaine says he is sponsoring Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s new bill to decriminalize marijuana federally.

“I think the right policy at the federal level is to decriminalize and allow states to make this choice, as we do with other criminal laws," Kaine said.  "They can make the choice.”

According to the latest data available from the Virginia State Police, the Commonwealth saw a twenty percent spike in marijuana related arrests between 2016 and 2017, even as some other states have now completely legalized the plant for recreational purposes.

Kaine says it’s time to stop locking people up over their non-violent use of marijuana. “I also think federal decriminalization can go a ways towards dealing with massive inequities in our criminal justice system and the over incarceration of individuals but especially of minorities for low level drug offenses.”

A request to comment from Kaine’s Republican Senate opponent, Corey Stewart, wasn’t answered so far.

LISTEN to The LCB’s original NPR reporting on cannabis for Virginia Public Radio.

Matt Laslo

The LCB’s founder, veteran political correspondent Matt Laslo, has brought Washington, DC to life for millions (73+ million on last count) of listeners, viewers and readers. He’s reported for five Pulitzer Prize-winning news outlets, 60+ award-wining local NPR outlets, nonprofit newsrooms and national magazines. He also runs the popular interactive journalism startup Ask a Pol Politics — a Substack bestseller.

Laslo’s groundbreaking generative AI coverage has been cited in 13+ law reviews, think tanks and a fiery letter Sen. Elizabeth Warren letter penned to OpenAI founder Sam Altman. His data privacy reporting for WIRED is cited in 25+ law reviews — including Cornell, Duke and Harvard. His tech features are assigned reading at NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins and DePaul. Laslo’s also cited as a government reform expert in 20+ (mostly) books, while his “war on drugs,” opioid epidemic and criminal justice reform features are quoted in 25 law reviews and books.

https://mattlaslo.com
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