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Virginia C apitol C onnections, Winter 2016 29
Virginia’s Growing
By Joy Gibson and Ken Jessup
Virginia’s Growing advocates and supports sensible legislation,
policies, and education of the plant Cannabis represent the
plant in its entirety, including its research, medicinal uses, industrial
hemp, and advocating for legislation on tax regulation, policy, and
personal use. Virginia’s Growing will work closely with legislators
on a conscientious model stating who is authorized to obtain, sell,
and handle cannabis.
Virginia’s Growing is cognizant of the evidence that Cannabis
Sativa contains numerous cannabinoids and phytochemicals
that are useful for the treatment of various medical conditions.
Cannabis preparations exert many therapeutic effects; by its nature,
they have analgesic, antispastic, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory,
and neuroprotective actions, and it is effective against particular
psychiatric disorders. Unfortunately, Virginia’s current laws allow
only certain variations for few selective medical conditions with no
legal means to obtain medical cannabis preparations.
We recognize that there is an urgency for research and clinical
studies to be implemented on the efficaciousness and the therapeutic
potential of cannabis products. Virginia’s Growing will encourage
citizens in the Commonwealth of Virginia who are experiencing dire
life threating illnesses, to participate in clinical trials with Virginia’s
universities and hospital research centers. Additionally, those who are
In Memoriam
Remembering Speaker Moss
By Delegate Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
Almost anyone who met and certainly everyone who knew the late
Speaker of the House of Delegates Thomas W. Moss, Jr. can recount
a funny story they heard him tell. His gregarious personality would
dominate any conversation, and he had a way of making himself the
center of attention at any gathering. Serious debate before the then
Corporations, Insurance and Banking Committee when he was chair was
often dispelled with a quip or wise-crack. Orations on the floor could be
deflated with his humorous observations as Speaker, but his comments
were not always politically correct. During tense time in the legislative
process his levity helped to move along the business of the House.
Too much attention to Speaker Moss’ personality and style can
overlook the important transitional role he played in his nearly 50
years of public service. Speaker Moss was first elected to the House
of Delegates as an anti-establishment Democrat. His campaign slogan,
“Get Norfolk Out of the Byrd Cage,” reflected the fact that while a
Democratic-controlled political machine dominated the state since
Reconstruction it was not good for urban areas like Norfolk. That
machine was headed from the 1930s by Governor and then Senator
Harry F. Byrd, Sr., a tight-fisted conservative who called himself a
Democrat but could more appropriately be labeled a Dixiecrat as
many white Southerners were known. Byrd vehemently opposed racial
desegregation of Virginia’s schools, and his opposition to government
spending kept Virginia a backward state for decades. Mr. Moss was
a national Democrat and succeeded in getting himself elected to the
House of Delegates where he was in the minority among the more
conservative members. Changes inVirginia’s political alignment came
about because of the work of leaders like Moss working within the
system and federal laws and court decisions influencing the system
from the outside. Getting rid of the poll tax and other restrictive voting
laws that kept mostly African Americans from voting, passage of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, and court decisions on redistricting brought
about a shift of power where Delegate Moss as a more progressive
member became Speaker and the more conservative Democrats
switched parties and became Republicans. Eventually this realignment
of political allegiance and federally-enforced fairer representation
among the regions of the state led to Speaker Moss losing his leadership
role in 2000. He retired from the House after the next term when the
new Republican majority drew him into a legislative district with
another Democrat. He was elected Treasurer of the City of Norfolk
where he served until January 2014.
Virginia became more progressive during Mr. Moss’s tenure—in
the areas of public school spending, investments in higher education,
improved mental health and social service programs, and roads.
In areas of civil rights it languished. The Equal Rights Amendment
(ERA) for women was opposed by Mr. Moss until he was challenged
by a woman who came close to defeating him in a primary. Virginia
still has not passed the ERA.
Not only didMr.Moss get Norfolk andVirginia out of theByrd cage,
he helped move the state into a modern era where public education and
strong institutions of higher education were valued and transportation
and infrastructure were recognized as critical investments. Speaker
Moss provided leadership for the Commonwealth during the passing
of a critical era. As funny as he could be, he did serious work to make
the Commonwealth a better place in which to live.
suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, chronic neuropathic
pain, Parkinson’s disease, and other medical conditions that previous
research indicated might benefit from cannabis, can request to
participate in the clinical trials.
Furthermore, Virginia’s Growing aims to expand the research,
initiated in 2014, on the possibilities of reintroducing industrial hemp
toVirginia. The industrial hemp industry has evolved to create 25,000
products that can be made from hemp, e.g., construction materials,
biofuels, and plastic composites. Our goal is to expand an industry
that could possibly provide Virginia with the largest economic return
on post-production of raw hemp products.
Virginia’s Growing will advocate for an economic impact
study to understand the tax effects for regulation of policy for the
Commonwealth of Virginia. We believe the study should include all
statistics regarding law enforcement and with tax avenues.
The responsibility of our legislators is to ensure that Virginians
can purchase products safely. Cannabis Sativa should be regulated in
the same manner as all other products. We cannot ignore the benefits
of cannabis.
Virginia’s Growing believes that there is irrefutable demand of
the plant Cannabis Sativa for all of its properties.
This article was written by Joy Gibson and Ken Jessup. Joy is a
freelance writer based in Williamsburg and can be reached at
. Ken is a registered lobbyist and can be
reached at .
Ken Plum with
Speaker Moss (left).
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