Smoke the Vote: How did our representative fare on the cannabis grade scale?

Laura Peters, Staunton News Leader
·2 min read

With the start of the Virginia General Assembly this month, there will no doubt be upcoming legislation regarding marijuana.

As of July 1, adults 21 years old and older are legally permitted to grow up to four marijuana plants per household for personal use and adults could possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

There will still be the possibility of more regulations with pot — distribution, licensing and how the Cannabis Control Authority will work.

There are currently 31 bills in Virginia's General Assembly, according to a data tracker by Virginia NORML.

Virginia NORML is a nonprofit organization and an affiliate of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Let's see how our area's elected officials did on the Smoke the Vote scale. Smoke the Vote is a project of NORML, partnered with VoteSmart, where data is collected on candidates and incumbents in state and federal offices and how they vote on marijuana/cannabis laws.

How the grades work

  • A — The member has publicly declared their support for ending prohibition of marijuana for adults and/or has cosponsored legislation to do so.

  • B — The member supports policies specific to the legalization of medical cannabis and/or support to give states greater autonomy in setting their own policies but have not cosponsored legislation to end marijuana prohibition.

  • C — The member has publicly acknowledged that states are moving forward with cannabis law reform policies and minor adjustments should be made at the federal level.

  • D — The member has expressed no support for any significant marijuana law reform.

  • F — The member expresses significant and vocal opposition to marijuana law reform.

According to NORML's website, state level candidates are assessed on the same standards as the federal candidates, but local NORML chapter leaders and activists have the autonomy to set the grades as they see fit.

What grade did they get?

  • Gov. Glen Youngkin (R)

    • Grade — C

  • Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle Sears (R)

    • Grade — D

  • Attorney General Jason Miyares (R)

    • Grade — D

  • U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D)

    • Grade — A+

  • U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D)

    • Grade — B+

  • U.S. House Del. Ben Cline (R-6)

    • Grade — D-

  • State Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-24)

    • Grade — D

  • State Del. John Avoli (R-20)

    • Grade — D

  • State Del. Ronnie Campbell (R-24)

    • Grade — F

  • State Del. Chris Runion (R-25)

    • Grade — D

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Laura Peters is the trending topics reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Or a good feature? You can reach reporter Laura Peters (she/her) at lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow her @peterslaura. Subscribe to The News Leader at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Smoke the Vote: How did our representative fare on the cannabis grade scale?