Urgent: Virginia Legislature Considering Unreasonable Sentencing Guidelines

Drugged Driving Bill Reintroduced
Last updated January 20, 2006

The opening of the 2006 legislative session in Virginia saw swift movement by legislators to increase penalties for simple marijuana possession and to try, once again, to push through drugged driving legislation that would put drivers at risk of arrest without having committed any crime.

Delegate Sal Iaquinto (R-84th) introduced a bill, H.B. 737, that would severely increase the penalties for possession of any amount of marijuana. Currently, a person in Virginia found to have a small amount of marijuana faces a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. These penalties are already among the harshest in the country, yet Iaquintoâ??s bill would increase the maximums to a $2,500 fine, one year in jail, and the forfeiture of driving privileges for any marijuana-related conviction, even those unrelated to driving. The House of Delegates Committee for Courts of Justice will be hearing this bill soon, so please act today to halt this devastating legislation.

http://www.mpp.org/VA/index.mpp

Delegate Charles W. Carrico (R-5th) has reintroduced legislation that would charge any individual driving with .003 milligrams or greater of tetrahydrocannabinol per liter of blood with driving under the influence of drugs, despite failed efforts to move similar legislation through committee last year, thanks in large part to the efforts of activists around the state of Virginia and testimony from MPPâ??s Aaron Houston. Although MPP generally supports legislation that will effectively make streets safer for drivers and punish individuals operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, this legislation creates an arbitrary and scientifically unsubstantiated standard that will put innocent drivers at risk of unlawful arrest and prosecution. Click here to email your representatives opposing HB 1182 and the unreasonable measures that it imposes.