With a new Democratic majority in the state legislature, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is hoping to make major reforms to the state's cannabis laws.
Herring, who is hosting a cannabis summit on December 11, told Cheddar on Tuesday he is bringing together legislators and experts in an effort to push forward his calls for reform.
"I'm really encouraged about the prospect of actually passing decriminalization in Virginia and the prospect of actually passing a plan to move to legal and regulated adult use," he said.
Herring is hopeful that by providing lawmakers a space to ask questions and address concerns with experts, as well as individuals from states that have already legalized or decriminalized marijuana use, his state can move towards passing new legislation.
Marijuana arrests in Virginia hit a 20-year high in 2018, and enforcement costs the state more than $80 million annually, Herring said.
"In Virginia, an arrest and a criminal conviction stays with you your whole life … That's not fair," he said, noting the disproportionate number of black Virginians arrested for marijuana possession.
But he says he is confident Virginia can move forward "in a historic way."
Authorities rescued 34 people from a floating chunk of ice that broke away from shore in the bay of Green Bay in eastern Wisconsin, the sheriff's office said Sunday.
The feds will spring for at-home COVID tests, the Dawgs do it, and heart transplant history. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
Police body-camera video shows a harrowing rescue in California, where a small plane crashed on railroad tracks shortly after takeoff from a suburban Los Angeles airfield.
The president of Turkmenistan is calling for an end to one of the country's most notable but infernal sights.
Take-Two Interactive, maker of "Grand Theft Auto" and "Red Dead Redemption," is buying Zynga, maker of "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends," in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $12.7 billion.
Investigators are trying to determine why safety doors failed to close in a New York City high-rise when a deadly fire broke out.
Novak Djokovic wins freedom, deadly apartment fire in NYC, and sharing undies. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Monday, January 10, 2022.
A U.S. District Court judge has agreed to let federal prosecutors use convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's $1,400 COVID-19 stimulus payment to help pay the millions of dollars he is ordered to pay his victims.
Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery have been sentenced to life in prison, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man.
Europe's sky is filling up with near-empty flights that even airlines admit serve no purpose except securing valuable time slots at some of the world's biggest airports.
