Both chambers of Virginia\u2019s legislature passed identical legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales on Wednesday, sending the proposal to the desk of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).<\/p>\n
The governor, however, has already indicated he intends veto the bills\u2014as he did with a similar lawmaker-passed proposal last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted 53\u201344 in favor of SB 970, from Sen. Aaron Rouse (D). That bill passed out of the Senate last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Senate on Wednesday, meanwhile, passed the House version of the legislation, HB 2485, from Del. Paul Krizek (D), on a 21\u201318 vote. That measure won House approval last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n There was no debate or discussion on the chamber floors on Wednesday beyond brief remarks describing each measure.<\/p>\n If the proposal were to become law, it would\u00a0allow adults 21 and older to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana from regulated, state-licensed retailers.<\/p>\n Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults are already legal in Virginia, the result of a Democrat-led proposal\u00a0approved 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. Since then, illicit stores have sprung up to meet consumer demand, feeding an illegal market that some estimates value at nearly $3 billion.<\/p>\n Youngkin\u2019s office, for its part, has already signaled that the governor would veto any similar plan if it passes in the coming session.<\/p>\n Asked by Virginia Public Media (VPM) late last year about the likelihood of a veto, Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the Youngkin, told the outlet: \u201cI think you can cite the fact that time and time again he has been very clear on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Reform advocates, on the other hand, say Youngkin\u2019s opposition to regulated sales is misguided, even if he isn\u2019t a fan of cannabis legalization or use.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Youngkin\u2019s opposition to these pragmatic measures is completely out of step with Virginians,\u201d JM Pedini, development director for the advocacy group NORML and executive director for Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday. \u201cContinuing to cede control of the commonwealth\u2019s marijuana market to unregulated, illicit operators poses substantial health risks for both lawful adult consumers and youth alike.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTaking marijuana off the street corner and out of the corner store is a public safety priority, not a political agenda,\u201d Pedini continued. \u201cThe governor\u2019s head-in-the-sand approach to cannabis policy endangers the health and safety of his constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Virginia\u2019s reintroduced marijuana sales legislation,\u00a0SB 970<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0HB 2485<\/a>, would do:<\/strong><\/p>\n Krizek and Rouse each sponsored separate legislation last year to legalize a commercial cannabis system in the state, plans that ultimately merged into a compromise proposal that was passed by lawmakers but vetoed by Youngkin.<\/p>\n In a veto message at the time, the governor wrote that \u201cthe proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians\u2019 health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Youngkin is ineligible to run for reelection, and advocates hope his replacement will be more favorable to regulated sales. They\u2019ve noted that a handful of Republican leaders in other states have been more open to marijuana reform.<\/p>\n Jason Blanchette, president of the Virginia Cannabis Association, told Marijuana Moment earlier this month that he expects Youngkin would again veto a legal sales bill if it reaches his desk this session, but added that it\u2019s nevertheless important that lawmakers take up the matter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got one more year of Youngkin, and then if we can get it out, get it on his desk, that\u2019ll be two times the Democrats have gotten the exact same bill through,\u201d he said. \u201cThe feeling is that\u2019ll set some very strong precedent for the next governor.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, meanwhile, the full Senate unanimously passed a separate bill that would pave the way for psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans<\/a>. It next goes to the House of Delegates.<\/p>\n SB 1101, from Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D), would establish a six-member state advisory council to study and make further recommendations about treatments involving U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-designated \u201cbreakthrough therapies,\u201d including substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.<\/p>\n As introduced by Hashmi last month, the bill would have also created a fund to support clinical trials into breakthrough therapy treatments for veterans, but a substitute adopted in committee removed references to that fund, leaving only the portion of the proposal that would create the advisory council.<\/p>\n \u201cThat particular substitute really pares the bill down to create within the Department of Health the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Advisory Council,\u201d Hashmi said at the time. \u201cOne thing that we know is that veteran suicide remains a critical crisis point, with rates significantly higher among veterans than the civilian population. Given the fact that we have such a high veteran community here in Virginia, this legislation is especially necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0measure\u00a0is an updated version of a similar proposal last year,\u00a0SB 229, that cleared the Senate but didn\u2019t make it out of the House.<\/p>\n Also this month, lawmakers advanced proposals that would seal records related to marijuana<\/a>. An amendment to the record-sealing legislation moved the enactment date of the proposal to July 1, 2026, which staff said was intended to allow Virginia State Police to implement the change.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania Governor Will Put Marijuana Legalization In His Budget, But Top GOP Senator Remains Skeptical<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Virginia Plan To Legalize Marijuana Sales Heads To Governor\u2019s Desk Following Passage By Both Legislative Chambers<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Both chambers of Virginia\u2019s legislature passed identical legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales on Wednesday, sending the proposal to the desk of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). The governor, however, has already indicated he intends veto the bills\u2014as he did with a similar lawmaker-passed proposal last year. Lawmakers in the HouseContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80189"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80190,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80189\/revisions\/80190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\nRead More: Virginia Plan To Legalize Marijuana Sales Heads To Governor\u2019s Desk Following Passage By Both Legislative Chambers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"