- Virginia on Wednesday became the first southern US state to approve the use of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
- The state Senate and House of Delegates voted to allow adults to possess marijuana as of 1 July.
- Adults over the age of 21 will be able to legally possess up to 28.3 grams of cannabis for personal use, as well as cultivate up to four plants per household.
Virginia on Wednesday became the first southern US state to approve the use of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
The state Senate and House of Delegates voted to allow adults to possess marijuana as of 1 July, in a measure approved despite fierce opposition by Republican lawmakers.
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam in a statement said his state had "made history as the first state in the South to legalise the simple possession of marijuana."
He said.
Several other US states, including New York and Colorado, have approved similar measures, but Virginia is the first to do so in the socially and politically conservative US south.
It's official—Virginia just approved historic legislation legalizing the simple possession of marijuana on July 1, 2021.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) April 8, 2021
This is a monumental step to address racial disparities in our criminal justice system and build an equitable, inclusive future for our Commonwealth.
A measure approved by the state in February would have seen the state legalise pot by 2024, but Northam asked lawmakers to move that date forward in a bid to keep regular users out of trouble.
Adults over the age of 21 will be able to legally possess up to 28.3 grams of cannabis for personal use, as well as cultivate up to four plants per household.
Like limits on drinking in public, consuming cannabis in public will not be allowed.
The licensing of cannabis production and commercial cannabis sales will not take place until July 1, 2024.
"Legalisation will bring an end to the thousands of low-level marijuana infractions occurring annually... ending a discriminatory practice that far too often targets Virginians who are young, poor, and people of colour," said Jenn Michelle Pedini with NORML, a national group lobbying for pot legalisation.
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