Virginia

U.S. Court Upholds Virginia’s Ban On Intoxicating Hemp

Published

3 hours ago

January 20, 2025

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U.S. Court Upholds Virginia’s Ban On Intoxicating Hemp

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A U.S. court has upheld Virginia’s strict regulations on intoxicating hemp products, ruling they don’t conflict with the federal law and Dormant Commerce Clause, reinforcing the state’s power to protect public health and safety.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided an appeal filed by hemp company Northern Virginia Hemp and Agriculture and other plaintiffs challenging Virginia’s Senate Bill 903, a law regulating hemp products.

The court denied claims that the law conflicts with federal law or violates the so-called Dormant Commerce Clause–a principle of law that prohibits states from enacting laws that unduly interfere with interstate commerce.

The court, in its judgment, stated that the states can provide legislation concerning health and safety matters, including restrictions on intoxicating hemp products.

The decision is a major setback to the hemp industry’s legal offensive against state rules, as it upholds that Virginia’s law in no way conflicts with federal rules or the Constitution.

Virginia’s Crackdown On Intoxicating Hemp Products

The plaintiffs have argued this state law conflicts with federal law under the 2018 Farm Bill because it restricts the amount of total THC in retail hemp products to 0.3%.

While the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp containing as much as 0.3% delta-9 THC, the main compound of marijuana also present in industrial hemp in small quantities, it didn’t restrict other forms of THC, which included delta-8, providing those products complied with their level of delta-9 THC levels.

Virginia acted upon Senate Bill 903 in reaction to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products ranging from gummies to beverages sold as marijuana alternatives.

Most of these are synthetically produced from CBD derived from hemp and include various compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O, and HHC, which created a fast-growing market.

The law, therefore, was meant to protect consumers from exposure to such intoxicating substances.

While the plaintiffs alleged that Virginia’s law was preempted by federal law and violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, such arguments were rejected by the court, which consequently ruled that the 2018 Farm Bill didn’t preempt Virginia’s regulations.

The federal law allows states to adopt more restrictive rules concerning hemp production, and Virginia’s law speaks particularly to the total THC content to make sure health and safety concerns are met.

The court also held that the Dormant Commerce Clause was not implicated because the statute treats all in-state and out-of-state parties equally and neither burdens interstate commerce nor favors local business.

In its ruling, the court said that since Virginia had a greater responsibility to care for the local health and safety concerns related to psychoactive hemp products, it could regulate them more strictly than federal law.

Yet the ruling did recognize that the law may have economic consequences for some businesses but found no reason to stop it from coming into force.

Hemp’s Future Under Review In Upcoming Farm Bill

At the federal level, the 2018 Farm Bill—what unwittingly fostered the psychoactive hemp products boom—remains under review.

Lawmakers have proposed amendments that could even redefine hemp to exclude intoxicating substances altogether.

That would provide a consistent federal standard and perhaps remove the need for state-level regulatory battles, but it would also deal a severe blow to the hemp industry.

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Virginia

Governor's Order for the Commonwealth of Virginia – Patriot Publishing LLC

Published

11 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Governor's Order for the Commonwealth of Virginia – Patriot Publishing LLC

In accordance with the authority vested in me as Governor and in accordance with federal law 4 U.S.C. § 6(d), I hereby order that the flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia are to be flown at full-staff on all state and local buildings and grounds in the Commonwealth in recognition of the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States.

The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring former President James Earl Carter, Jr. and remain at half-staff through January 28, 2025.

I hereby order that the flags shall be raised at 11am on Monday, January 20, 2025 and lowered at sunrise on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

Ordered on this, the 18th day of January 2025.

Sincerely,

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Virginia

Biden pardons Virginia House Speaker Don Scott for 1994 drug offense

Published

18 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Biden pardons Virginia House Speaker Don Scott for 1994 drug offense

President Joe Biden issued a pardon Sunday of Virginia House Speaker Don Scott for a 1994 non-violent drug offense for which he served almost eight years in prison.

“America is a country built on the promise of second chances,” Biden said in a statement, as he issued multiple pardons and sentence commutations.

Scott, a trial lawyer and Navy veteran, was elected to the Virginia legislature in 2019. In January 2024, he became the first Black speaker.

“I am deeply humbled to share that I have received a Presidential Pardon from President Joe Biden for a mistake I made in 1994 — one that changed the course of my life and taught me the true power of redemption,” Scott said in a statement.

He continued: “This moment is not just about me. It’s about demonstrating that our nation can embrace the potential for change, for justice, and for redemption. It’s about what happens when we refuse to give up on each other.”

Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. He announced Friday he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. He also gave a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes.

A pardon relieves a person of guilt and punishment. A commutation reduces or eliminates the punishment but doesn’t exonerate the wrongdoing.

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Biden framed the commutations and pardons as in keeping with the “sacred covenant of our nation.”

Speaking to the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in South Carolina, he said when people “we love fall and make mistakes,” Americans pick them back up.

“We don’t turn on each other. We lean into each other. That’s the sacred covenant of our nation,” he said. “We pledge an allegiance, not just to an idea, but to each other.”

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Virginia

January 18, 2025 – Virginia Attorney General Miyares Condemns President Biden’s Last Minute Clemency for Cop Killer and Accomplice

Published

1 day ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

January 18, 2025 – Virginia Attorney General Miyares Condemns President Biden’s Last Minute Clemency for Cop Killer and Accomplice

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Attorney General

Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General

202 North 9th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Service
800-828-1120

For media inquiries only, contact:
Shaun Kenney
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Virginia Attorney General Miyares Condemns President Biden’s Last Minute Clemency for Cop Killer and Accomplice

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares today issued the following statement after President Joe Biden announced clemency for Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson – the “Waverly Two” whose criminal acts caused the death of Officer Allen Gibson in 1998.

“I am absolutely outraged by what has happened. My heart is shattered knowing that the men that killed my father are going to be released from prison and can walk the streets freely,” stated Officer Gibson’s daughter, Crissana Gibson. “This is a huge miscarriage of justice, and I am completely disgusted by the outgoing administration. The Virginia Attorney General’s office has worked tirelessly to keep these murderers behind bars, and I am forever grateful for their dedication and hard work. I am so disappointed that the disgraceful Biden administration has failed my family, my father, and the entire law enforcement community. Neither my family nor I have ever supported the release of Richardson or Claiborne, and we denounce this decision by the outgoing failed presidency of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party’s abuse of the justice system.”

“If the Democrats intend to build their vision of social justice on a pile of dead law enforcement officers, they could send no stronger message than the one they sent today,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “The decision not to pardon but merely commute the sentence of Terence Richardson only supports our position that he is in fact guilty of manslaughter. This office will continue to exhaust itself in seeking justice for the family of Officer Allen Gibson and ensuring that those involved are held to account.”

On April 25, 1998, 25-year-old Officer Allen Gibson woke up and went to work as a Waverly police officer. He put on his bulletproof vest and said goodbye to his eight-year-old daughter Crissana. Officer Gibson found Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne engaged in a drug deal behind an apartment building. The men attacked Officer Gibson, and Richardson disarmed Officer Gibson and fatally shot him in the stomach right below his bulletproof vest.

Terence Richardson pleaded guilty in Virginia court to involuntary manslaughter, and Ferrone Claiborne pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. A federal appeals court held in 2002 that Richardson “intentionally shot Gibson,” and that the facts “amply support the finding” that Richardson and Claiborne “murdered Gibson.”

Not only did President Obama deny clemency to Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson, but the Biden White House was recently advised by the U.S. Attorney General not to commute the sentences of certain violent offenders.

“Yesterday, Joe Biden woke up and decided that these two violent criminals deserve clemency,” said Miyares. “Joe Biden should be ashamed, but we know that he probably doesn’t even know what he signed. Biden and his staff deserve scorn, shame, and derision for this despicable act. Shame on you, Joe Biden and your enabling staff.
“May the memory of Officer Allen Gibson and his family haunt each of you forever.”

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