RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)-Virginia lawmakers are trying to make it harder for people to be arrested for marijuana possession and easier for previous convictions to be removed from a person’s record.
With Democrats in charge of both chambers of the state legislature, these bills are signs of momentum towards marijuana legalization. The General Assembly shot down the idea earlier this year but lawmakers are expected to take up the issue again in 2021 after the state’s non-partisan commission completes a study.
One bill being considered during the ongoing special session would prohibit law enforcement from searching a “person, place or thing” based on the scent of marijuana alone. Instead, an officer would have to see the substance or come across it while conducting an unrelated search for a person to be charged with possession.
The legislation furthers that evidence seized during an unlawful search as defined by the bill cannot be used in court.
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