{"id":74233,"date":"2024-04-16T08:25:39","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T16:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/16\/after-virginia-gop-governors-marijuana-veto-democratic-senators-say-legal-sales-likely-wont-happen-until-2027-or-later\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T12:46:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T20:46:10","slug":"after-virginia-gop-governors-marijuana-veto-democratic-senators-say-legal-sales-likely-wont-happen-until-2027-or-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/16\/after-virginia-gop-governors-marijuana-veto-democratic-senators-say-legal-sales-likely-wont-happen-until-2027-or-later\/","title":{"rendered":"After Virginia GOP Governor\u2019s Marijuana Veto, Democratic Senators Say Legal Sales Likely Won\u2019t Happen Until 2027 Or Later"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Democratic senators in support of legal marijuana sales in Virginia said at a recent event that in light of Gov. Glenn Youngkin\u2019s (R) veto of a retail cannabis bill last month<\/a>, it will likely be 2027 or later before adult-use shops can legally open their doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very direct, and sometimes folks don\u2019t like to hear the harsh truth, but it\u2019s the harsh truth,\u201d said Sen. Aaron Rouse (D), who sponsored the retail sales bill in the Senate<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s a really big mountain to climb with this governor and his administration. I think he will veto setting up an adult cannabis market regardless of what we send him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy 2027, there will be a new governor in Virginia,\u201d added Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), who sponsored marijuana sales legislation this session<\/a> and in years past. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that after the 2025 gubernatorial election, that someone will take office in January of 2026 who would sign an adult-use marketplace bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means that, whether it was in 2027 or thereabouts,\u201d Ebbin continued, \u201cwe could expect to see more a regulated market for non-medical use or adult use in Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults is already legal in the commonwealth, the result of a Democrat-led proposal sponsored by Ebbin that was approved by lawmakers in 2021<\/a>. But Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor\u2019s office later that year, subsequently blocked the required reenactment of a regulatory framework for retail sales.<\/p>\n

This year, with Democrats in control of both legislative chambers<\/a>, lawmakers passed a new legal sales bill, sending it to Youngkin for his consideration in late February<\/a>. A month later, the governor vetoed the bill, writing in a veto message that \u201cthe proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians\u2019 health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAddressing the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in Virginia\u2019s current laws does not justify expanding access to cannabis,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n

Rouse and Ebbin spoke about Youngkin\u2019s veto and the outlook for the future of retail cannabis sales at a webinar hosted by the Arlington Committee of 100 last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to try to rationalize the governor\u2019s statement,\u201d Ebbin said at the event, noting that Youngkin \u201chas been antagonistic to this now-legal-to-possess plant in Virginia throughout his remarks on cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he acknowledged that supporters likely don\u2019t have the votes to override Youngkin\u2019s veto during this week\u2019s veto session in the legislature \u201cbecause the bill passed by a fairly slim margin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d need to actually attract support from the governor\u2019s party, and we don\u2019t anticipate that happening,\u201d the senator said. \u201cSo we have to get in a mode where we start over in a future year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Rouse: \u201cThis is a great starting point for us\u2026 But ultimately, I think we will just have to wait our time until we get a more friendlier person into the governor\u2019s mansion.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In the House, Del. Paul Krizek (D), who led this year\u2019s cannabis retail bill in that chamber, has already said he\u2019s intending to support a legal sales bill next session.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really did craft a wonderful piece of bicameral legislation that even garnered bipartisan support, albeit not as many members as I would have expected, but that was probably due to Governor\u2019s antipathy toward it,\u201d he told Marijuana Moment after Youngkin\u2019s veto. \u201cSo, we have a bill we can introduce next session that will only need some minor adjustments (I did see some small improvements we can make) and gives us a head start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebbin made a similar pledge during the recent webinar.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I have for several years, I\u2019ll keep fighting for a regulated and safe recreational adult-use cannabis marketplace and continue to welcome folks joining me legislatively,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s well past time for the governor and his Republican colleagues to take this seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rouse and Ebbin were initially at odds over how to structure retail cannabis sales<\/a> when this legislative session began. A bill from Ebbin, SB 423, prioritized opening the legal market quickly, by allowing the state\u2019s existing medical marijuana operators to sell recreational products almost immediately. Rouse\u2019s measure, by contrast, would take longer to implement legal sales but ensure that no single group of operators got a head start.<\/p>\n

Ebbin said late last year that he was \u201cconfident\u201d a legal sales proposal could reach the governor\u2019s desk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But when asked about concerns from some advocates earlier this year that Youngkin would veto whatever measure lawmakers sent to his desk<\/a>, Ebbin replied: \u201cI\u2019m working to pass a bill. You want me to talk about hypotheticals, about what could happen if it was vetoed, when it hasn\u2019t even passed yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebbin championed Virginia\u2019s 2021 marijuana legalization law and, last legislative session, was the sponsor of another legal sales bill that was blocked by the then-Republican-controlled House.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ahead of the veto, Youngkin had hinted at his intentions to veto the bill, telling a local reporter: \u201cAnybody who thinks I\u2019m going to sign that legislation must be smoking something.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

At one point earlier this session, however, it appeared the retail cannabis bill could become part of a grand deal between Youngkin and legislative Democrats. In December, Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas (D) alluded to a\u00a0compromise involving a sports stadium project the governor supported<\/a>. But that deal never materialized, and Democrats\u00a0left the governor\u2019s proposed arena plan out of budget legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legislation sent to Youngkin would have begun licensing marijuana businesses later this year, with sales slated to kick off on May 1, 2025. Sales to adults 21 and older of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana flower would be allowed, with purchases taxed at 11.625 percent. Local governments could ban marijuana establishments, but only with the support of local voters.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Virginia\u2019s lawmaker-passed retail\u00a0sales<\/a>\u00a0legislation<\/a>\u00a0would have done:<\/strong><\/p>\n