Virginia lawmakers now debating marijuana legalization
Who regulates it and taxation rates are part of the debate
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ROANOKE, Va. – Marijuana legalization continues to be a hot debate in the commonwealth.
Senate Bill 1406, which looks to make the drug legal, went to the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services subcommittee Tuesday morning.
One of the topics lawmakers discussed was the regulation of commercial marijuana by determining who will have the authority.
While some people lean toward the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (VABC), others want an independent agency to regulate it instead.
“NORML does support and prefer a regulatory agency that is specific to cannabis.“ Jenn Michelle Pedini, the executive director of Virginia NORML, said. “It is understandable the legislation is looking to leverage the resources already available through ABC but it remains to be determined if that is the best regulatory pathway.”
Michael Pope reports.
When the prohibition on alcohol was repealed back in the 1930s, the General Assembly created a new liquor control plan and set up a new agency to regulate it: The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. Now Governor Ralph Northam says ABC should also regulate marijuana when it s legalized.
Senator Lionel Spruill is a Democrat from Chesapeake who disagrees with the governor.
Credit U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration I think this is too much for ABC to handle. We need to have a regulatory commission, another commission to start not ABC. This is really important for us. We need to start from ground zero, Spruill says. Find another agency that has the time and the know-how to put all the staff together to make this thing work for us. This is not the job for ABC.
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