What happens if someone under the age of 18 is in possession of marijuana? Or what happens if someone tries to sell marijuana without a license? And what kind of punishment should someone face for having more than five pounds?
JM Pedini at Virginia NORML says a Senate panel is answering those questions by recriminalizing marijuana.
"We just watched Democrats vote yes for new marijuana mandatory minimums," Pedini said after the hearing.
Valerie Slater at Rise for Youth says she's concerned about criminalizing kids.
"We want to ensure that whatever we come out with is a bill that does not add criminal penalties to children. We cannot allow that to move forward," Slater argued.
Chelsea Higgs Wise at Marijuana Justice hopes to see the Senate Finance Committee strip out the new penalties that were added by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.
"In 2024, we saw the same approach to adding mandatory minimums from Chairman Surovell and we saw what happened in Senate Finance, which was they were completely removed by the chairwoman, Senator Lucas. So, we are hoping for that same type of action," Higgs Wise said.
Senators still have to negotiate with the House and, ultimately, Governor Spanberger about how the retail marketplace will work and what kind of penalties violators would face.
