Hemp, marijuana advocates push back against Youngkin crackdown

Hemp advocates and civil rights activists pushed back Tuesday against a proposal by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to crack down on marijuana and popular edibles known as “Delta-8.” They say the proposal is an assault on farmers and businesses and harkens back to the decades-old “War on Drugs.”

Youngkin — three months into the job — made his proposal in the form of amendments to a piece of legislation that aims to restrict the potency of synthetic edibles made from hemp and sold in retail stores.

Youngkin proposed amendments to the bill to set the minimum age at 21 for buying CBD products, and would ban Delta-8 products starting in October.

The bill would create new criminal misdemeanor penalties for people with more than 2 ounces of marijuana, something a state oversight agency recommended last year. (Virginia legalized personal possession of up to an ounce of marijuana last year, with higher amounts up to a pound punishable by a $25 civil penalty).

While small amounts of marijuana are now legal in Virginia, people have to grow it themselves. House Republicans in February killed a proposal to kick start the sale of legal, recreational marijuana. [Read more at The Daily Progress]