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A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee shot down a handful of marijuana bills Wednesday evening, including a pot decriminalization proposal supported by Gov. Ralph Northam.

A House Courts of Justice subcommittee led by law-and-order Republicans voted 6-2 to kill two bills that would have legalized marijuana in Virginia.

Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, the sponsor of one of the legalization bills, argued that many Virginians have come to believe that the “most dangerous thing about cannabis is getting caught with it.” Legalizing and regulating pot, he said, would mean fewer people burdened with criminal records or jail time for minor drug charges and would generate more tax revenue for the state.

But even legalization supporters recognized that the proposal had no chance of passing in a state that took years to authorize a relatively narrow medical cannabis program that will allow only five dispensaries selling non-psychoactive cannabidiol oils, commonly known as CBD.

Del. Steve Heretick, D-Portsmouth, who also sponsored a legalization bill, said he was only asking for a “mature regulatory discussion” on a matter of “personal freedom.”

It was clear that the discussion may be a few years away.