Virginia Medical Marijuana Law
House Bill 1445 became a law on February 26, 2015. The bill provides an affirmative defense for patients who suffer from intractable epilepsy (and for the parents or legal guardians of juvenile patients) for the possession and use of marijuana extracts that contain a minimum of 15% of either cannabidiol (CBD) or THC-A, and no more than 5% THC. Patients must get a written certification issued by a doctor that is licensed by the Board of Medicine.
An affirmative defense does not protect a person from arrest or from being held in jail before trial or made to stand trial. Instead, it is a defense that can be proven in court after the person has been charged. For instance, if a defendant (or his/her child) has intractable epilepsy and their doctor has a written certification for medical marijuana, then this could be used in court as an affirmative defense.
House Bill 1445 does not provide any means of in-state access to medical marijuana for qualifying patients; therefore, patients cannot legally obtain a marijuana extract containing THC because it is federally illegal to cross state and international borders in possession of a Schedule I substance.
View House Bill 1445
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