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."
Louisiana communities battered by Hurricane Ida are now dealing with the possibility of weeks without power in the stifling, late-summer heat.
All the news you Need2Know for Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello reports on Queens residents who mostly are voicing support for keeping the Open Streets program in New York City even after the pandemic.
China is banning children from playing online games for more than three hours a week, the harshest restriction so far on the game industry as Chinese regulators continue cracking down on the technology sector.
Brazil, the country with the most freshwater resources in the world, has lost 15% of its surface water over the last three decades.
A fearsome Hurricane Ida has left scores of coastal Louisiana residents trapped by floodwaters and pleading to be rescued, while making a shambles of the electrical grid across a wide swath of the state in the sweltering, late-summer heat.
All the news you Need2Know for Monday, August 30, 2021.
New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell has ordered people outside the city’s levee protection system to evacuate. Forecasters say Ida made landfall in Cuba as a hurricane and could grow to an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm with top winds of 140 mph when it nears the U.S. coast.
All the news you Need2Know for Friday, August 27, 2021.
Michael Chernow is known as a chef, TV host, and entrepreneur, but now he's taking a break from restaurants and stepping into the world of healthy breakfast. 'Kreatures of Habit' is a new lifestyle and wellness brand with the goal of helping people establish healthy habits. Michael was able to raise 2.2 million dollars to launch the company, which was originally set out to be a café concept, but transformed during the pandemic. Michael Chernow, celebrity chef, entrepreneur, and fitness expert joins us to talk about his new venture.
