Legalizing Weed: 6 Quotes From Lawmakers After Pot Failed to Become Legal in Virginia

Virginia has made attempts at legislation to legalize medical marijuana, specifically citing its assistance to those who suffer from seizures and other chronic maladies. Despite polls that show a majority of Virginians supported this measure, it eventually failed.

Here are 6 quotes from lawmakers after Virginia failed to legalize weed.

1. "We are not good stewards of taxpayer dollars when we arrest and prosecute nonviolent Virginians for possessing marijuana, and it's a civil rights disaster... there's a tremendous racial disparity in the enforcement of marijuana laws."
– Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who sponsored a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in the Virginia Senate, that was passed by indefinitely by the Committee for Courts of Justice, which means that the bill reached the legislative session

2. "It's unacceptable that legislative bodies stand in the way of hope."
– Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax), argued that legalizing weed for the medically afflicted would ease pain and suffering throughout Virginia

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3. “I was the only one who was here in the late '70s that voted to essentially decriminalize less than half an ounce. They said then that if you pass this, essentially it was going to be the end of western civilization. It’s been 35 years, and we’re still kicking.”
– Sen. Richard L. Saslaw (D-Springfield), a member of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee who supported Ebbin’s bill, according to RVANews

4. "Everyone has a different opinion about what is appropriate. So I do not think a solution on this would be to legalize marijuana. And with regards to medical marijuana there are no studies out there that support any finding that medical marijuana helps with any illness of any kind that is not already helped by medicine."
– U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (6th District, Virginia)

5. “I don’t believe we’ve seen all of the negative impacts that are going to come out of Colorado, Washington State, and Oregon on that yet. Virginia does not want to lead the way on some of those troubles.”
– Sen. Steve Newman (R-Forest), according to the Lynchburg News and Advance

6. “I just don’t believe I could be in favor of telling the kids of Central Virginia that I think it’s OK to use illegal drugs or drugs that have been determined to be mind altering and bad for their body.”
– Del. Matt Fariss (R-Rustburg)

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