Virginia’s First Annual Cannabis Freedom Festival held in Charlottesville

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - On Saturday, Sept. 10, the Virginia Hemp Coalition and the Commonwealth Collective hosted its first ever Virginia Cannabis Freedom Festival.

At the Shops at Stonefield, people gathered to celebrate hemp and cannabis rights in Virginia.

They say there will be no shame or fear during this celebration.

“It’s about freedom, about our individual freedom and our rights to cannabis. It’s a human right, it’s a medicine, and it’s been for 12,00 years,” said COO of the Cann Man Scott McStacy.

While it’s been around for a while, many laws have tried to limit access to it.

“There are a lot of stigmas that go along with this plant, and I think we really need to set boundaries with that and make sure that people don’t infringe upon our rights because they might have a bias, President of the Virginia Hemp Coalition Jason Amatucci said.

He says these biases can be unfair in the hemp and cannabis business, and can translate into the legal system.

“We really need to make sure that there’s fairness in our laws and everybody gets a seat at the table here, especially our farmers and our small businesses. We also need to make sure that every prisoner that is in jail for cannabis is out,” Amatucci said.

McStacy says cannabis helped through a very difficult time in his life.

“I had cancer in 2003. I started using medical cannabis shortly thereafter. It helped with inflammation, pain management, and anxiety a lot. It really saved my life, he said.

Many others shared stories at the festival, recognizing the progress of cannabis and hemp rights in Virginia.

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