Lawmakers failed to consider legislation that was introduced during this legislative season’s special session to decriminalize the possession and cultivation of limited quantities of marijuana in West Virginia.
House Bill 114 sought to permit the personal use, growth and possession of up to two ounces of marijuana by persons over the age of twenty-one who have acquired a “tax stamp” from the state. It would have removed marijuana from the state list of schedule I drugs and decriminalize first-time marijuana distribution offenses involving under 30 grams of marijuana. Adults would have been allowed to transfer to another person twenty-one years of age or older, without remuneration, one ounce or less of marijuana.
Adults who choose to grow their own marijuana would have been permitted to cultivate and harvest up to six plants.
Misdemeanor criminal penalties would have remained in place for those adults who fail to purchase a tax stamp or who are found to be in possession of more than two ounces of marijuana or who are engaged in commercial marijuana sales.
Under current state law, possession of marijuana in any amount is a misdemeanor punishable by no less than 90 days, or no more than 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $ 1,000.
NORML would like to thank those of you who contacted your state lawmakers in support of this legislation.
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – Advocacy Campaigns
