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

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