Enough Is Enough

There is no action on marijuana legalization taking place in Virginia.  While New Jersey and other states have had medical marijuana legislation in the news recently, and California, Alaska and others are having votes on outright legalization, big news in Virginia is some delegate from Gloucester introducing legislation to expunge marijuana convictions from people's records, in certain limited circumstances.  BIG NEWS!  Wow!  This is some BIG FUCKING NEWS!

Virginia is not completely shut out of the news in regard to drug policy reform, however.  Senator Jim Webb is working on a review of federal penal laws in relation to the prison issue.  As Webb says, in 1980 the federal government imprisoned 40,000 people.  Today it imprisons over 500,000 -- mostly for nonviolent drug offenses.  I hope Jim Webb is not the only U.S. Senator who believes those numbers are alarming, and are willing to, as Webb advises, "put [marijuana legalization] on the table."

In fact, Webb's office and that Gloucester delegate I scorned earlier provide real resources for anyone who would want to begin a marijuana legalization legislative campaign in Virginia.  The article I read named a couple other Virginia legislators who displayed at least a minimally positive attitude toward the general idea of maybe approving the expungement legislation.  They might constitute secondary resources.  What we need in Virginia is a legislative strategy that consists of legislative language and lobbying to get the language in front of the legislature where necessary, and the people where possible.  We need specific legislation to support with a specific campaign.  It needs to operate on the local and state level.

If we can make marijuana legal in Virginia, that would put Virginia in the forefront of the brewing state challenge to federal drug policy.  We have an administration in Washington that has signalled it will RESPECT STATES RIGHTS by ordering the federales not to go after distributors legal under state medical marijuana laws.  If state legislation legalized marijuana in Virginia and legally prevented state and local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal anti-drug operations, that would make it harder for the Feds to fight marijuana in Virginia, and make it safer for Virginia's citizens.  If the Obama Administration extended its order to Virginia, that would effectively end the Oppression of Marijuana Users in Virginia.

IT CAN BE DONE!  I am going to begin work on a pamphlet of WHAT IS TO BE DONE: Common Sense for the Inhabitants of Virginia.  I will produce this pamphlet this week and hopefully present the plan to the VCU chapter of SSDP.  They will provide the core of the corps.  I noticed on Facebook they have links with other SSDP chapters in Virginia.  They provide the statewide foot soldiers, or hopefully the sergeants, who will motivate their stoner friends to perform simple, one-shot tasks that will register a number somewhere relevant.

A hell of a lot of Virginians believe that the Legalization of Marijuana is Good Public Policy.  It is time that we all stand up and say so.  The vast majority will only do so if there is a concrete proposal to support, and if they feel secure enough to voice their opinion without fear of consequences they are not prepared to face.  I believe that there are enough of us now to provide safety in numbers.  All that is missing is the proposal, and the recruitment effort will have a decent chance of success.  All we need to do is get a certain percentage to register its support for legalization legislation, then keep raising that percentage until it passes.  Even if we get only 29% of the population on record in support of a TRUE, non-watered-down legalization bill, that is a substantial minority, and it commands respect.  It provides legitimacy, and makes it easier for more people to come forward.  Next round you get 37% in support.  It gets a little easier, and demographics are in your favor.  Next round, which is only three years into the campaign, you get 44%.  Now you're starting to look unstoppable.  The press picks it up, and the other side is solidly on the defensive.  IT WILL PASS.  I say this:

If those of us who believe in legalization mount such a campaign, it will not fail.