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A top Democratic Virginia senator says the state should move forward with legalizing recreational marijuana sales\u2014in part to offset the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to federal spending in support of states.<\/p>\n
While the legislature has twice passed bills to create a regulated commercial cannabis market after the state legalized possession and use by adults in 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed both proposals.<\/p>\n
But with anticipated increases in spending in Virginia resulting from various federal policy initiatives such as the withdrawal of federal welfare dollars to states, Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D) said it\u2019s time to get serious about alternative revenue, which should include legalizing marijuana sales.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an inescapable responsibility to generate and create a long-term and sustainable source of revenue to safeguard core programs and services,\u201d Lucas told Virginia Public Radio.<\/p>\n
Del. Paul Krizek (D), chair of a joint commission tasked with studying and making recommendations on creating a cannabis market, said lawmakers\u2019 \u201ctop priority is making sure that we\u2019re not setting people up to fail and that we\u2019re that we have good strict oversight mechanisms, and there\u2019s phased expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ll get it going as soon as judiciously possible,\u201d he<\/a> said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Krizek\u2019s panel held its second meeting last week, with members taking input on tax and revenue options for cannabis sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n That came almost two months after the commission first convened, as members discussed broad regulatory considerations and other issues related to THC potency, the hemp market<\/a>\u00a0and more.<\/p>\n Use and possession of\u00a0marijuana has been legal in Virginia since 2022<\/a>, but retail sales remain forbidden\u2014a situation that\u2019s helped fuel a multibillion-dollar illicit market. Despite efforts by Democrats in past years to legalize and regulate the retail system, Youngkin has stood in the way of the reform, vetoing proposals passed by lawmakers during each of the last two sessions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Youngkin, however, is term-limited and unable to run for re-election in November. The governor\u2019s replacement is likely to decide whether regulated products will become available in the commonwealth in the next few years.<\/p>\n The governor has also opposed more incremental reforms. In May, for example, he vetoed a bill that\u00a0would have allowed deliveries of medical marijuana directly to patients at locations other than their own homes<\/a>. It would have also updated product labeling requirements so packaging would more clearly indicate THC and CBD levels.<\/p>\n In March, after the legislature passed the legislation, Youngkin recommended an amendment that would\u00a0remove language to allow marijuana to be delivered to places other than a patient\u2019s private residence<\/a>. Lawmakers later declined to make that change, however, and\u00a0sent the unamended bill back to the governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Youngkin in March also vetoed a host of other drug reform proposals passed by lawmakers, including\u00a0the legal sales bill<\/a>\u00a0and another to\u00a0authorize the prescription of a synthetic form of psilocybin as soon as the federal government authorizes its use<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beyond the legal sales and psilocybin bills, the governor also\u00a0rejected a number of other cannabis-related reforms this session<\/a>, including efforts to resentence people serving time for cannabis offenses and protect the parental rights of those who legally use the drug.<\/p>\n Youngkin agued in a veto statement that legalizing sales of adult-use marijuana \u201cendangers Virginians\u2019 health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStates following this path have seen adverse effects on children\u2019s and adolescents\u2019 health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue,\u201d the governor claimed. \u201cIt also does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Even before the start of the current legislative session, Youngkin\u2019s office had\u00a0signaled it had no interest in the reform<\/a>.<\/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 are already watching to see where his\u00a0possible replacements stand on legalization and other cannabis policy changes<\/a>.<\/p>\n The two major party nominees for the position\u2014Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger\u2014have starkly different views on the reform.<\/p>\n Earle-Sears recently echoed Youngkin\u2019s views, saying of legalization: \u201cThere\u2019s no hope in that.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s also said marijuana is a gateway drug and that she fired a previous employee for using it.<\/p>\n Spanberger, meanwhile, voiced support for a regulated retail market.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a formalized, legal, emerging cannabis market,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also need to make sure that [tax] revenues flow into Virginia and are used to strengthen our communities and public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n In a new statement to Virginia Public Radio, she said a future sales law should be crafted so that it \u201cprioritizes public safety and grows the Virginia economy.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Top Virginia Senator Wants To Legalize Marijuana Sales To Offset Trump\u2019s Federal Spending Cuts<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A top Democratic Virginia senator says the state should move forward with legalizing recreational marijuana sales\u2014in part to offset the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to federal spending in support of states. While the legislature has twice passed bills to create a regulated commercial cannabis market after the state legalized possession andContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":82964,"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\/82963"}],"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\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82965,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82963\/revisions\/82965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Top Virginia Senator Wants To Legalize Marijuana Sales To Offset Trump\u2019s Federal Spending Cuts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"