Virginia Legislative Alert

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Virginia's short legislative session is in progress, and a number of bad bills to escalate the Drug War are being considered. Please write or call your state legislators in opposition to these bills. It will all be decided by the end of this month, so please act now.

• SB34, SB58, HB 96, HB 169 -- dealing with marijuana seeds and stems. All of them would increase penalties for certain marijuana offenses.
• SB435, SJR73 -- Bill to legalize double jeopardy.
• HB646, SB53 -- Makes courts continue cases that are now dropped due to incomplete lab tests or improper procedures.
• HB1002 -- $1000 additional fine for possession or distribution charges, with proceeds going to local authorities.
• SB67, SB355, HB 1054 -- These bills would cause small time first offenders to have permanent criminal records, pay for their own rehab and be denied parole when no treatment is available.
• HB504 -- Denies bail to drug offenders.
• SB183, HB 1052 -- Allows greatly expanded use of military for drug law enforcement, particularly for searching private property.
• SB59 -- Treats possession the same as sales.
• HB949, HB950, HB579 -- Various bills calling for drug testing of high school students. HB949 is the strongest with HB579 calling for "voluntary" testing only.

Please also call or write in favor of House Joint Resolution 183, a bill which expresses the sense that drugs should be treated as a medical issue, not a criminal justice issue.

You can phone your state Delegate, or find out who he or she is, by calling (804) 786-6530 (legislative information) or (804) 786-8826 (clerk's office). You can find call your state Senator, or find out who he or she is, by calling (804) 786-3838 (legislative information) or (804) 786-2366 (clerk's office). Virginia residents can use (800) 889-0229.

You can write to them at:

Remember, everything will be decided by the end of this month, so don't delay!

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