Virginia’s “marijuana martyr” has been smoking legal weed 48 years after his arrest

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In April of that year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed adult cannabis legalization and a man nicknamed “Marijuana Martyr” after being sentenced to 40 years in prison for selling weed , was there to see how it happened.

“Marijuana laws have been specifically targeted towards color communities and Black Virginians are disproportionately likely to be stopped, charged and convicted,” Governor Northam said in a statement after the bill was signed. “Today Virginia has taken a decisive step to correct this injustice and restore justice to those harmed by decades of overcriminalization.”

Roger T. Davis is perhaps the most famous Black Virginians to suffer the effects of these outdated, racist prohibition laws. In October 1973, Davis was arrested for selling three ounces of weed to a police informant and having another six ounces in his home. The following year, Davis was charged with the sale of marijuana and property for sale and sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison and a $ 20,000 fine.

The court argued that the sentence was justified because Davis had been arrested for selling LSD prior to his arrest. However, Davis and his legal team believed he was targeted because he was married to a white woman and was known as a hippie and provocateur.

Over the next decade, Davis became known as a “marijuana martyr” as he struggled to appeal this excessive punishment. Several federal judges agreed that his sentence was classified as a “cruel and unusual sentence” and decided to overturn it. However, the state continued to fight and eventually took the case to the US Supreme Court, which ruled that the sentence was upheld.

In 1982, former Virginia Governor Charles Robb finally recognized the injustice of the case and reduced Davis’ sentence to 20 years. After serving about half that time, Davis was paroled but was arrested again for selling cocaine in the early 1990s. In 1993 he was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison.

Upon his release, Davis stopped selling drugs and started doing construction jobs, writing, and making art. “I’ve lived through the system and learned a lot,” he told the Washington Post. “I learned a lot from the system’s mistakes. I’ve learned a lot from my own mistakes. “

Davis, now 76, currently resides in Roanoke and is taking full advantage of his legal right to smoke weed whenever he wants. On July 1, it became legal for any adult Virginian to own up to an ounce of weed without fear of jail time. The Adult Use Act will also create a licensed and regulated retail cannabis market, but it won’t open to trade until 2024.

“It’s a little rewarding to be able to say, ‘I think I wasn’t that crazy 50 years ago,'” Davis told the Post. The “Marijuana Martyr” now hopes to help the Commonwealth work to apply its new weed laws fairly. “Black people have been wrong for so long,” he added. “This is an opportunity to do something right.”