Politics
Virginia Cannabis Commission Holds First Hearing Following Governor’s Veto Of Bill To Legalize Recreational Sales
Virginia lawmakers are gearing up for a push to include provisions to legalize recreational marijuana in budget legislation this month despite the governor’s veto of a proposal to enact the reform just weeks ago.
The effort was a topic of discussion at the first meeting of the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market since Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) move to kill the previous proposal to regulate adult-use marijuana sales.
Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D), who sponsored the Senate version of the legalization measure that Spanberger vetoed, noted that transitioning the state to a framework for legal cannabis commerce is the “primary goal” of the body.
“To the millions of Virginians who support a safe, regulated cannabis market, to the small business owners who are prepared to participate in a legal industry, and to the adults who already use cannabis legally under Virginia law, we want you to know that that commitment remains our number one priority,” she said. “The conversation is far from over to moving us into that legal marketplace.”
“The reality is that cannabis is already being bought and sold every day throughout the commonwealth,” Aird, who was elected chair of the commission on Tuesday after previously serving as vice chair, said. “We had legislation that I continue to state in this moment would have stopped that activity.”
“It would have ensured that transactions occurred regulated, consistently—that would allow for testing, age restrictions, meaningful enforcement, and allow consumers with protections that they deserve. As we move forward with the interim meetings of the commission, not only will we continue to have conversations that speak to those shared goals and those shared priorities, we will consider continuing to allow public comments to really make it clear that the commonwealth needs to quickly transition to an adult-use marketplace in all the ways that not having one continues to bring harm to many categories of individuals.”
Following Spanberger’s veto, top lawmakers have been openly discussing the possibility of including provisions to legalize adult-use cannabis sales in still-outstanding budget legislation that they are due to pass by July 1.
Aird told reporters after the commission meeting that “it would be really irresponsible if we didn’t take this one final opportunity to try and get the legislation moved forward, but…we are not trying to ram anything through, we want it to be legislation that continues to address our shared concerns.”
“There is a pathway to adopt a form of compromise,” she said. “There is so much fear and hopelessness from the public and business owners that Virginia will continue to keep them in limbo. And we don’t under any circumstance plan to stop fighting to move this forward.”
Lawmakers passed the cannabis sales bills in March, but the governor then suggested changes to the legalization proposal—including delaying the start date for sales by six months, increasing taxes and instituting new criminal penalties for cannabis consumers. The legislature in April declined to take up the amendments during a one-day reconvened session, however, effectively rejecting them. Spanberger then issued a veto.
Del. Paul Krizek (D), who sponsored the House version of the now-vetoed cannabis legislation, noted at the commission meeting that lawmakers have been working on the issue for “a long time.”
“We passed legislation again to establish that retail market with licensing, product testing, enforcement, consumer protections and a timeline for legal sales,” he said. “The bill was vetoed in May, once again delaying our transition into a full legal marketplace. So, here we are.”
“Cannabis is legal to possess, legal to grow in limited amounts, and legal to use, but the retail market remains illegal,” Krizek, who was elected vice chair of the commission at the meeting after having been its inaugural chair. ‘So that contradiction is kind of the central issue this commission will continue to confront, and our task is to keep doing the serious work of preparing Virginia for a regulated market—even while the politics remain difficult.”
The delegate told reporters after the commission meeting that there’s room for compromise with the governor on the issue to find “a middle ground we think we can do.”
“This bill, as opposed to any of the other vetoed bills, is really one that’s more urgent,” he said. “It’s about public safety.”
A reporter for WRIC-TV asked the governor’s office about the idea of putting cannabis language in the budget.
“Governor Spanberger has made clear that she supports setting up a legal retail marketplace for cannabis that prioritizes the health and safety of Virginians, protects communities and consumers, and operates with clear enforcement and regulatory authority,” a spokesperson said, without directly addressing the question of using the budget as a vehicle to enact the reform.
The legislation that lawmakers passed this session, and that Spanberger ultimately vetoed, was largely informed by a framework the joint cannabis commission recommended late last year.
Members at this week’s meeting also heard a presentation from representatives of the National Conference of State Legislatures about the implications of federal marijuana and hemp policies for state like Virginia.
They additionally discussed recently enacted changes to state cannabis laws in Virginia, such as measures to provide resentencing relief for past marijuana convictions and allow patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals.
The governor, meanwhile, is continuing to try to explain her veto—including by saying it is her view that “taking a little bit longer” to launch the market is not something she sees as “negative” because it is more important to get the details right than to do it fast.
“If I’m going to be responsible for a monumental consequential change to how we do one type of business in Virginia, then do it right,” she said in a recent interview. “The devil’s in the details.”
“The fact that we’re going to be talking a little bit longer about how do you set up a retail cannabis market correctly—I don’t see that as something that is a negative,” she said. “Do people want me to sign a bill or do people want me to get it right, and as the person doing the implementing, what’s most important to me is get it right.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Aird pushed back on the notion that the state is unprepared to quickly transition into an adult-use marijuana framework, citing the efforts of regulators who oversee the current medical cannabis system.
“I don’t think enough credit goes to our already existing regulatory entity that has had the tools, resources and expertise in place to stand up this marketplace the moment we say that we are ready to go,” she said. “There has not been enough conversation about the fact that the things that have been asserted as being lacking are simply not factual. These entities that will be responsible for regulating here in the commonwealth, we have been playing start and go with them for a number of years, and so they have been ready. They are waiting on us.”
A recent survey found that bipartisan majorities of Virginia voters wanted Spanberger to sign the cannabis legislation into law, and that they specifically disagreed with her desire to slow the launch timeline for legal sales.
The governor recently acknowledged in a separate interview that “a lot of people are not pleased” with her veto of the cannabis legislation. “Friends and family are displeased as well,” she said.
Spanberger has repeatedly responded to criticism of her cannabis amendments from the bill sponsors and advocates by saying the suggested changes came after she spoke to the leaders of other states that have already implemented adult-use marijuana markets.
A spokesperson for Spanberger was not able to name any other governors she talked to about cannabis in response to a question from Marijuana Moment, however.
The governor separately recently sought to explain her veto in an earlier interview, reiterating that she supports launching a legal cannabis market but worried about what she called a “rushed timeline” and “far more stores across Virginia” than she thinks are appropriate.
Prior to vetoing the cannabis commerce bill, the governor did sign separate legislation to provide resentencing relief for people with past cannabis convictions.
Personal marijuana possession and home cultivation of marijuana has been legal in Virginia since 2021, but then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) twice vetoed bills to provide consumers with a way to legally purchase regulated adult-use cannabis.
Aird and Krizek, the sponsors of the legalization bills, had urged colleagues to vote against the governor’s amendments last month—even if that meant risking a veto from Spanberger when the legislation returned to her desk, which has now occurred.
Here are the other key details of the cannabis bills—SB 542 and HB 642—as approved by lawmakers and with the governor’s suggested amendments:
- Lawmakers voted to allow adults to be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products as determined by regulators. That would represent an increase from the limit in current law of 1 ounce. The governor, however, wanted the amount increased to only 2 ounces.
- Under the legislature’s plan, legal sales could begin on January 1, 2027, but the governor proposed to push that back to July 1, 2027.
- Lawmakers voted to impose an excise tax of 6 percent on cannabis sales as well as a 5.3 percent retail sales and use tax, while allowing municipalities to set an additional local tax of up to 3.5 percent. The governor’s plan was largely the same, though it would have increased the excise tax to 8 percent starting on July 1, 2029.
- Under the legislation as approved by lawmakers, revenue would have been distributed to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund (30 percent), early childhood education (40 percent), the Department of Behavioral & Developmental Health Services (25 percent) and public health initiatives (5 percent). The governor, however, wanted to put all revenue into the general fund while earmarking it “for purposes such as early childhood education, behavioral health, public health awareness, prevention, treatment, and recovery services, workforce development, reentry, indigent criminal defense, and targeted reinvestment in historically disadvantaged communities.”
- The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would have overseen licensing and regulation of the new industry, and would have also taken on oversight of hemp, which is currently under the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
- Local governments could not have opted out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their area.
- Delivery services would have been allowed.
- Serving sizes would have been capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than 100 mg THC per package.
- The governor proposed to make public marijuana use a class 4 criminal misdemeanor instead of civil violation punishable by a $25 fine as under current law. She also wanted to make possessing cannabis by people under the age of 21 a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable with a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or 50 hours of community service, as well as the suspension of drivers licenses for at least six months. Illegally selling or distributing 50 pounds or more of marijuana would have been a class 2 felony punishable by life in prison.
- The governor sought to eliminate support for the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund.
- Existing medical cannabis operators could have entered the adult-use market if they pay a licensing conversion fee that was set at $10 million.
- Cannabis businesses would have had to establish labor peace agreements with workers.
- As passed by lawmakers, the bill would have directed a legislative commission to study adding on-site consumption licenses and microbusiness cannabis event permits that would allow licensees to conduct sales at venues like farmers markets or pop-up locations, but the governor proposed to remove that language.
A coalition of cannabis reform organizations sent the governor a letter last month urging her not to veto the sales legalization legislation even though her amendments were rejected.
“Together, these bills address the real issues surrounding cannabis in the Commonwealth today: an already-existing, unregulated marijuana market operating openly across the state while consumers, communities, and law enforcement are left without the protections of a legal framework,” the groups wrote.
“Let’s be clear: these bills do not create a marijuana market in Virginia. That market already exists,” the letter said. “What these bills do is replace today’s predatory and unaccountable illicit operators with a regulated marketplace, enforceable rules, oversight, product safeguards, age verification, and the strict consumer safety standards already in use for Virginia medical cannabis.”
The letter was signed by Virginia NORML, Marijuana Justice, Virginia Cannabis Association, Marijuana Policy Project and other groups.
Separately, a coalition of hemp businesses that joined with a major alcohol retailer in asking Spanberger to veto the marijuana bill before she did so said the move presents an “opportunity” to craft better cannabis policy.
Meanwhile, the governor signed several other reform bills this session—including measures to protect the parental rights of marijuana consumers and allow patients to access medical cannabis in hospitals.
