RoBERTN, TRACCI COMMONWEALTH’S ATTORNEY COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE 410 E, HIGH STREET, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22902 Attomey General Mark Herring Commonwealth of Virginia 202.N 9th St. Richmond, VA 23219 June 19, 2019 Re: Marijuana Decriminalization Discussion Requires Traffic Safety Focus Dear Attorney General Herring: I weleome your effort to facilitate legislative debate concerning Virginia law pertaining to the possession of small, user quantities of cannabis. This office provides qualifying candidates first offender status for the possession of user quantities of marijuana, strongly supports the Charlottesville-Albemarle Drug Court program, and seeks to ensure equal justice consistent with our obligation to faithfully apply the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, As highlighted in your June 15, 2019 Daily Press opinion piece, Virginia law currently treats the possession of small, user quantities of marijuana as a criminal offense. Moreover, even those who qualify for first offender status may lose the privilege to drive for six months. In addition, those who serve no jail time may have a criminal record and forfeit a range of services. T support efforts to reassess the scope, application, and potential decriminalization of small, user quantities of marijuana, as well as efforts to address simple marijuana possession convictions in a methodical, case-specific manner. | also appreciate your effort to work with stakeholders and legislators to ascertain potential non-criminal marijuana possession levels, and to emphasize public safety and outreach, and the impact of marijuana on young people. 410 EAST HIGH STREET, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA 22902June 19, 2019 While your Daily Press recitation of issues associated with marijuana decriminalization raises important questions, it omits a fundamental public safety component that must be central to marijuana reform debate: developing and adopting clear, bright line statutory thresholds to deter marijuana-impaired driving. Recent data shows an increase in traffic crashes and fatalities in states that have decriminalized marijuana." According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (HHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) president David Harkey, “legalizing ‘marijuana (] is having a negative impact on the safety of our roads. States exploring legalizing marijuana should consider this effect on highway safety."? After legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado, traffic fatalities linked to marijuana rose sharply.? We must ensure that Virginia leams from the experience of other states that decriminalized marijuana without complementing public health and traffic safety efforts. As state legislatures have moved toward decriminalization of user quantities of ‘marijuana, some have recognized the attendant traffic and public safety risks associated with doing so. Virginia law currently establishes per se impairment levels for alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy, and PCP. It is my view that any legislative consideration of ‘marijuana decriminalization be paired with adopting a per se or presumptive THC impairment levels to deter marijuana-impaired driving, In 2006, the Virginia House of Delegates passed HB 1182 to establish a per se THC impairment level by a margin of 98-0, but the legislation was not signed into law.‘ In my view, passage of similar legislation must be part of legislative discussion to decriminalize simple possession of marijuana in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I urge you and Virginia lawmakers to focus on this issue as part of any legislative reform debate. Respectfully, __——-~ Nn. YY weet Robert N. Tracci Commonwealth's Attorney CC: Kirkland M. Cox, Speaker, Virginia House of Delegates ‘Thomas K. Norment, Jr., Virginia Senate Majority Leader Ralph Northam, Governor 1 See Legalized marijuana linked o sharp rise in car rashes, hips:l\www.nhenews.com/business'cansumerilegalized- smarjuanalinked-sharp-rse-car-crashes-o8215L, October 18,2018 2 See Crashes rise in frst states to begin legalized retail sales ofrecreational marijuana, bps/w is orginews/detail/cashes-tse-in-first-sttes-to-bevin-Iealized-retal-sles-of ecreational-mariuane, October 18,2018. ® See Exclusive: Traffic erates linked to marijuana are up sharply in Colorado. {s legalization to blame? hhpsv/www.denverpost.comv2017/08/25/colorado-marijuana-affic-faalties!, December 28, 2018, 4 See htp:!lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe0614sum+ HB1182 © Page 2