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In a historic shift, the Biden Department of Justice on May 16 moved to formally reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance, ending decades of federal policy categorizing weed as a Schedule I substance alongside other hard drugs like heroin and LSD. While the proposed change won’t outright legalize pot for recreational use, it does mark a major step toward decriminalization at the federal level.
But even as Biden’s DOJ was finalizing their new rule, right across the Potomac in Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a Democrat-backed bill last month which would have legalized marijuana in the Old Dominion. The contrast highlights continued resistance from many Republicans to the rapid legalization of recreational weed use, particularly as new research calls into question Democrat assertions that the drug is “harmless” or less dangerous than other legal substances like alcohol and cigarettes.
Since 2021, Virginia has allowed sales of some marijuana-derived products, and has allowed adults aged 21 or older to grow and possess marijuana in their homes. However, Democrats in the state have been pushing for full legalization, something Youngkin has always made clear he is opposed to.
After taking back the House of Delegates and holding the state senate last year, one of Virginia Democrats’ first priorities was passing a weed legalization bill. Leading the charge was Louise Lucas, a far-left Democrat from Portsmouth, Virginia, who has styled herself as Youngkin’s nemesis in the state legislature.
Back in 2022, Lucas notably hosted a pot-themed “420ish Unity Festival” where she donned a dress with images of marijuana leaves. Lucas also owns a cannabis shop which has been cited for selling mislabeled products which contain illegal substances.
While pro-legalization advocates were hopeful Youngkin would sign the bill, he instead slammed it in a veto statement as “endanger[ing] Virginians’ health and safety.”
“States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescents’ health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue,” Youngkin continued. “It also does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety.”
Youngkin’s statement is backed up by a growing body of evidence suggesting that marijuana – particularly the far more potent strains of the drug in circulation today – are more harmful than once believed.
Virginia’s own history with cannabis shows this to be the case. When marijuana became legal in the state in 2021, stores began selling products like gummies and candy with higher and higher levels of THC. According to Virginia’s Cannabis Control Authority, “the amount of THC in cannabis products nearly quadrupled from 1998 to 2021.”
The more legally available the drug has become, the more high-potency THC products have been made available to the public. These have been linked to addiction, heart complications, brain damage, motor fatalities, and even psychotic episodes.
As The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month, the idea that marijuana isn’t addictive is also a myth. According to drug expert Dr. Bertha Madras, “About 30 percent of those who use cannabis have some degree of a use disorder. By comparison, only 13.5 percent of drinkers are estimated to be dependent on alcohol.”
Moreover, the highly potent weed on the market today is more likely to lead to schizophrenia and chronic psychosis. Pregnant women are also using pot at an increasing rate, leading to birth defects and even disruptive and violent behavior in kids who were exposed to THC in the womb.
Another consequence of marijuana legalization, particularly as gummies and other edibles become more popular, is unintentional ingestion by children. In 2020, for instance, Vermont, which legalized weed in 2018, had 29 children admitted into emergency rooms for accidental ingestion of cannabis. In 2023, that number jumped to 377.
This problem is even popping up in Virginia without full legalization. Earlier this month, the Virginia State Health Commission announced that they had created a new website to track and report cases of minors being hospitalized due to “cannabis consumption.”
Nonetheless, marijuana remains legal for medicinal use in 38 states and legal for recreational use in 24 states. Even in those states where the drug remains illegal, many district attorneys refuse to prosecute marijuana cases.
Many Democrats and even some Republicans bemoaned Youngkin’s refusal to legalize marijuana. The issue could cost Republicans at the ballot box with young voters who overwhelmingly favor legalization.
But in preventing full legalization, Youngkin may have saved his state from the dire consequences being experienced by other states who have fully legalized the drug. Unlike Democrat legalization efforts, which are based more on politics than science, Youngkin appears to be looking out for the health and well-being of Virginia residents – and that, ultimately, is the basic responsibility of any elected leader.
Andrew Shirley is a veteran speechwriter and AMAC Newsline columnist. His commentary can be found on X at @AA_Shirley.
