Virginia group to hand out free marijuana seeds

(The Center Square) – An organization that promotes the legalization of marijuana will be handing out free marijuana seeds at a few Virginia locations on the first day the product is legal, July 1.

It will be legal to use marijuana and possess up to 1 ounce of the product. It will also be legal to grow up to four plants per household and to give marijuana to another person for free. It will still be illegal to sell marijuana, provide it in exchange for gifts or require a separate transaction in conjunction with transferring the product.

“We want to mark this historic day by saying ’let us grow’ now that home cultivation of cannabis is legal in Virginia,” Nate Copes, an Alexandria volunteer for Virginia Marijuana Justice, said in a statement. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the occasion than by having VAMJ volunteers hand out free high-quality seeds to Virginians.”

At this stage, the seed giveaway sites include outside CBD Store-Richmond in Henrico County, near the Rosslyn Metro station in Arlington County and at a private property in the City of Charlottesville. The group is also looking for other locations. People looking to host a location, donate seeds or access seeds can sign up through their website.

VAMJ is working with sister organizations in Maryland and Virginia, seeking to collect 10,000 donated seeds from growers and supporters for the distribution. The Washington, D.C. affiliate held a similar giveaway after marijuana was legalized in the nation’s capital in 2015. The New York affiliate also held a giveaway, which provided joints for people who showed proof of vaccination to encourage people to get COVID-19 vaccines.

“We have seen first-hand the smiles and gratitude that a free seed giveaway brings to first-time growers, and it’s pretty special,” Adam Eidinger, the co-founder of DCMJ, said in a statement. “However, we also know from our experience that so many people do not realize that they can grow cannabis at home legally. Some people didn’t know about the new law, as it pertains to home cultivation, until our volunteers handed them a free packet of seeds. So there is a significant educational component to our giveaways.”

With only four medical marijuana dispensaries in the commonwealth, the organization said home growing marijuana will make it easier for patients.

The group is also encouraging lawmakers to liberalize its laws further, such as increasing the number of plants a person can grow to six per adult and allowing a person to possess more than an ounce of marijuana.

“We will continue to make our message clear that we want to be free to grow an amount of cannabis to actually meet our needs, and for punitive penalties to be eliminated,” Krawitz said. “It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t start out of the gate with more reasonable limits, however, it is a good starting point. Too many people will still wind up in the illicit market to fill the void created by these unrealistic plant and possession limits.”

Commercial cultivation, transport and sale of marijuana is set to become legal in 2024, which is meant to provide the state with time to establish marijuana regulations and to provide business licenses. Local governments will be allowed to prohibit marijuana sales within their jurisdiction through an ordinance, but they will not be able to restrict the use of marijuana.

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