Ask your legislators to stop jailing cannabis consumers.

While cannabis policy reform is sweeping the country, Georgia remains one of only 19 states that still imposes jail time for simple possession of cannabis.

Polling shows more than 70% of Georgia voters support legalizing cannabis for adult use, and surely the margin is even stronger for decriminalization. Yet more than 45,000 people were arrested in 2018 alone for cannabis possession in the state! The legislature must act in order to bring this long overdue policy change to the Peachtree State.

Make sure your lawmakers know this issue matters to voters. Let your lawmakers know it’s time to stop arresting cannabis consumers. Ask them to support changing the penalty for possession from possible jail time to a civil fine.

After you reach out to your lawmakers, be sure to share this message with your friends and family in Georgia and encourage them to do the same!

And stay tuned for other updates — including about efforts to expand Georgia's very limited, medical cannabis program, which applies only to low-THC cannabis extracts.

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Contact your lawmakers and urge them to end cannabis prohibition.

In May, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed a decriminalization bill — SB 2/ HB 972 — into law, making Virginia the 27th state to decriminalize simple cannabis possession. Today, the new law officially goes into effect!

Starting today, possession of one ounce of cannabis or less is punishable by up to a $25 fine — the lowest fine of any decriminalization state. You can read a full summary of the new law here.

While this reform is long overdue in Virginia, broader reform — legalizing and regulating cannabis for adults — is needed to further reduce cannabis-related arrests, remove cannabis as a justification for police interactions, and displace the illicit market by providing adults safe, regulated access.

Just last week, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus included legalization on its list of priorities for a special session set for August. The decriminalization law also creates a work group to study legalization in Virginia and make recommendations by November 30, 2020.

Now is a great time to reach out to your lawmakers and urge them to support legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis for adults 21 and older.

In other news, several improvements to Virginia’s limited medical cannabis program also go into effect today. Patients are now legally protected from prosecution (not just conviction) for possessing their medicine, and a greater variety of products and more dispensary locations will also be available to patients when products are available for purchase.

Please take a minute to reach out to your lawmakers in support of legalization, and be sure to share this news with your family and friends in Virginia!

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