Virginia Republican Delegate pushing for decriminalization of marijuana

Continued coverage of Republican lawmakers from around the nation per the request of Wisconsin Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), this time it is Virgina’s turn.  I found a recent story off The Raw Deal but Virginia has made news in the past.  As the closing line of the blog by Morgan “I think if they will take the time to see the information that I have, I think they will take it more seriously.” It is my hopes as Executive Director with of Northern Wisconsin NORML that the Senator and Republican leaders alike in Wisconsin take this issue more seriously.

Virginian lawmakers will have a unique opportunity to end criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana in their state when the 2011 Virginian General Assembly Session convenes on Wednesday, January 12.

Surprisingly enough, 80-year-old Republican Delegate Harvey Morgan, an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, is leading the charge to decriminalize marijuana possession.

Legislation proposed by Morgan, known as House Bill 1443, would replace the criminal fine for possession with a civil penalty and eliminate the 30-day jail sentence and criminal record that would follow conviction.

The bill would not change penalties for the manufacture or distribution of marijuana. It would also continue to require drug screening and education for minors convicted of marijuana possession.

Morgan introduced a similar bill in January of 2010, but the legislation never made it out of committee in the 2010 General Assembly Session.

“The Commonwealth continues to punish people for mistakes made decades ago,” Morgan said during a news conference in January. “We need to move to a more honest, reasoned, compassionate, and sensible drug policy, and this bill does that.”

“In 2007, nearly 18,000 people were arrested in Virginia for simple possession of marijuana,” he continued. “This places a tremendous burden on law enforcement, prisons and the judicial system. In these times of economic hardship, we need to closely examine how our tax dollars are spent.”

“When you consider that research indicates that variations in penalties—including jail time—have no discernible effect on the prevalence or frequency of marijuana use, making simple possession a civil rather than a criminal offense makes sense.”

Earlier this year I read about Morgan in The Washington Post and was kind of shocked by the behavior of his fellow elected officials.

It’s high times in the Virginia General Assembly. The lobbyists are cracking jokes about “joint” sessions, and the legislators are laughing that free Girl Scout cookies delivered Wednesday could prove useful.

In the District, the city council is on the verge of approving legislation to allow the use of medical marijuana. In Maryland, a senior Republican has joined a senior Democrat in planning to propose a similar bill in the state Senate. But in conservative Virginia, the idea is a joking matter for many.

Morgan said his bills have been viewed largely with amusement by his Republican colleagues. Some have taken to holding pinched fingers to their lips, to mime smoking a joint, as they pass him in the hallway. Others have been plotting to hang a bow tie festooned with cannabis leaves on the doorknob of his General Assembly office in the dead of night.

I am glad to see our elected officials are human, it does give me hope that they have some common sense also.  Maybe Morgan and his colleague Janis can prevail, we know the public supports reform of various degrees.

That is, except for the slight, bespectacled, often-bow tie-wearing Republican delegate from Gloucester County who has proposed decriminalizing marijuanathis year. Del. Harvey B. Morgan has also sponsored a separate bill that would allow medical marijuana.

“I think there is nobody in the House of Delegates who has more credibility, knowledge and experience with pharmaceuticals than Harvey Morgan,” cracked Del. William R. Janis (R-Goochland), “because he’s a pharmacist, of course.“

And the article closed out by Morgan giving a lesson to many out there.

“I think if they will take the time to see the information that I have, I think they will take it more seriously,” Morgan said.