Take Action to Decriminalize Marijuana in Virginia - HB 1443
The upcoming 2011 Virginia
General Assembly Session presents an
unprecedented opportunity
for marijuana law reform in the Commonwealth
of Virginia. Virginia
Delegate Harvey Morgan has proposed a bill to
decriminalize marijuana
possession in the upcoming 2011 Virginia
General Assembly Session.
HB 1443 would replace criminal penalties
for simple marijuana possession
with a civil fine of $500.
A more ambitious marijuana
decriminalization bill never made it out of
committee in the 2010 General
Assembly Session. The 2011 session
promises to be very different.
No less than seven bills have been
proposed to outlaw synthetic
marijuana. The 2011 session promises a
robust drug policy debate
involving the full General Assembly. The
end result will be changes
in Virginias Drug Control Act. This is
where you come in.
Virginia residents need to
contact their State Delegates and Senators
via email and/or phone to
ask them to support marijuana law reform.
Specifically:
Ask your Delegate to support
HB 1443 and the decriminalization of
marijuana.
Ask your Senator to sponsor
a companion bill to HB 1443 and to support
the decriminalization of
marijuana.
Use your own words.
Dont over think it. A sentence or two is more
than enough. Keep
it short and be polite. Use your real name and
include your real address
so that they know you are a real
constituent. The important
thing is that you let your elected
officials know that their
constituents want to see marijuana
decriminalized. If
enough people contact their elected officials,
legislators will be compelled
to decriminalize marijuana.
Useful Links
Summary of HB 1443 with link
to full text:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?111+sum+HB1443
Guidance on how to contact
your Virginia elected officials:
http://legis.state.va.us/1_cit_guide/contacting_my.html
Whos My Legislator Search
tool:
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
Virginia NORML
http://www.virginianorml.org/
What Happens Next
The 2011 General Assembly
Session will convene on Wednesday, January
12, 2011. This will
be a short session that only lasts 30 days. In
any other year a marijuana
decriminalization bill would not likely
make it out of the Courts
of Justice Subcommittee that considers such
changes to Virginia law.
This year is different. A robust drug
policy debate involving
the full General Assembly is virtually
guaranteed. Changes
to the Virginia Drug Control Act will be made.
Whether or not those changes
include the decriminalization of
marijuana is up to you!
You can make a difference. Email and/or
phone your elected officials.
Tell a friend to do the same. Help
spread the word. Sign
up as a Virginia NORML member (its free!) to
receive legislative action
alerts and encourage others to do the same.
Thanks to Robert Sharp for composing this urgent message.
Lennice Werth
Virginians Against Drug
Violence
Crewe, VA.
434-645-8816
lennice@hifitown.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decriminalization talking points [Care of VCU SSDP!!]:
To join our email Information
list and become involved RIGHT NOW!.. Click here!
VADV/DPFVA
Our calender of upcoming events
[word file] Estimation of the Budgetary Costs of Marijuana Possession Arrests In the Commonwealth of Virginia Published by:Center for Regional Analysis, School of Public Policy,George Mason University—September 24, 2003
1978 Virginia Legislative Marijuana Commission report
Virginia's current medical marijuana law
Access concise and well referenced Drug-War Facts here.
About Virginians Against Drug Violence.
Meet some Virginians Against Drug Violence activists.
Links to resources on the web.
Virginia drug news care of Media Awareness Project.
Virginia organizations defending the Patient's Right to Medicine
Legislative Updates from VADV.
E-mail discussion lists and general information.
Written submissions from some of our members.
Non Governmental Organization {NGO} Information.
Virginians Against Drug Violence
Crewe Virginia
(434) 645-8816
Free Virginia Legislative information
E-Mail
List..
Website designed and maintained by
Michael
Now if we can only get 68911 people to call or write their elected representatives!