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On his first day in office on Thursday, the new prosecutor for Fairfax County, Virginia announced that he will not be pursuing cases of low-level marijuana possession.

But that action has already hit a snag, with a judge rejecting Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s guidance and denying a motion to dismiss one such a case. Judge Mark Simmons reportedly said that each case needs to be reviewed individually, and twice refused the prosecutor’s request to dismiss a possession case.

A man appeared (w/o a lawyer) on a simple possession charged, CA moved to nolle pros, Judge Mark Simmons denied the motion. CA again moved to dismiss case, Judge denied.

— Drew Wilder (@DrewWilderTV) January 2, 2020

But in subsequent cases on Thursday, Simmons did dismiss possession charges per the prosecutor’s request.

After denying prosecutor’s move to drop marijuana possession prosecution in first case before him, Judge Simmons has gone on to dismiss others. Plan to drop all marijuana possession cases in Fairfax County will be a case-by-case and judge-by-judge situation.

— justin jouvenal (@jjouvenal) January 2, 2020

Descano, a former federal prosecutor who campaigned on reducing mass incarceration and ending the drug war, is following the lead of several other commonwealth’s attorneys who’ve emphasized the need for prosecutorial discretion when it comes to cannabis offenses.

“Prosecuting adults for simple possession of marijuana does not improve community safety. In fact, such prosecutions can spur future crime,” Descano wrote in a statement announcing his move. “An otherwise law-abiding person that’s found with a relatively insignificant amount of marijuana does not constitute a threat.”

Last year, two Virginia prosecutors—Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Greg Underwood and Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales—said that they would dismiss misdemeanor possession cases under certain circumstances.

But in Norfolk, a coalition of judges banded together to block the move, arguing that such a policy change would have to be codified in the legislature, rather than handled at the prosecutor’s level. The dispute reached the state’s Supreme Court, which ruled in May that judges have the authority to accept or reject judicial directives from the commonwealth’s attorneys.

With that, the Fairfax County judge’s decision to reject Descano’s possession policy is unlikely to face a further legal challenge.

A few simple possession cases have since been nolled prossed. Couple more to go. Judge is being clear about hearing each case individually and not interested in a blanket approach.

— Drew Wilder (@DrewWilderTV) January 2, 2020

But what the prosecutor’s announcement does signal is a growing sentiment in Virginia that courts and law enforcement shouldn’t waste resources on pursuing low-level cannabis offenses. And while judges can continue to resist reform attempts ordered by prosecutors, legislative change that can’t be ignored may be on the horizon.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who ran on decriminalization in 2017 and talked about the policy in his State of the Commonwealth address last year, is pushing for the legislature to achieve that goal, which has been made all the more likely since Democrats reclaimed control of both chambers of the General Assembly in November’s elections.

Lawmakers have already prefiled bills decriminalize and legalize marijuana for the 2020 legislative session.

The state’s top cop is also on board with comprehensive cannabis reform. Attorney General Mark Herring (D) hosted a summit last month that involved discussions with representatives of states that have legalized marijuana.

Herring, who is running for governor in 2021, has also laid out a reform agenda that he says will begin with decriminalization and expungements and he hopes will eventually lead to full cannabis legalization.

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The post Virginia Prosecutor Announces His Office Will Not Pursue Marijuana Possession Cases appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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Kyle Jaeger, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife