Green Leaf Medical, which is the state-sanctioned medical cannabis provider for the Richmond region, is one of only a handful of legal commercial growing operations currently allowed in Virginia. (BizSense file)
Amid the deaths of similar bills in the House of Delegates, legislation that would establish a recreational cannabis retail market in Virginia took a step forward on Thursday when it passed out of the Senate’s finance committee on its way to a vote by the full Senate.
The legislation would allow the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, the state’s cannabis regulator, to begin to issue licenses for cannabis businesses on July 1, 2024, if it becomes law.
The bill also would allow existing state-sanctioned medical cannabis companies to grow and sell recreational cannabis products starting July 1 of this year.
The legislation is Senate Bill 1133 and is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Adam Ebbin.
While it is currently legal to grow, possess and consume cannabis for personal recreational use in the Old Dominion, it remains illegal to sell recreational cannabis. Only state-approved medical cannabis operators can sell in Virginia. Elements of the 2021 legislation that legalized personal marijuana use require re-enactment to set the stage for the launch of a full recreational market.
Sen. Adam Ebbin
SB 1133 would give the CCA the power to award and revoke licenses needed to operate recreational cannabis businesses and to regulate the recreational market. The legislation would allow the authority the ability to grant licenses for cultivators, manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers.
The legislation would limit cannabis retail stores to no more than 1,500 square feet in size.
As proposed in the bill, there would be no ceiling on the number of licenses that could be awarded by the CCA, though it would allow the authority to create license limits if it wanted to do so.
The bill would allow local governments to hold voter referendums on whether to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating within their jurisdictions.
The Senate’s finance and appropriations committee voted to advance SB 1133 to the full Senate without discussion after the vote.
Ebbin’s previous attempt at creating a recreational market died last year in a House of Delegates committee. SB 1133, should it pass in the Senate this session, would likewise be weighed by a committee in the House before it would have a chance to be voted on by the full House. If the House approves the bill, it would then head to the governor’s desk for his consideration.
But while the legislation took a step forward, it’s not a sure bet that 2023 will be the year recreational marijuana sales are made legal in Virginia. Two Republican-sponsored retail market bills failed to advance in the House earlier this week. And Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s position on the rollout of a retail market is unclear.
The killed bill sponsored by Republican Del. M. Keith Hodges (House Bill 1464) would have allowed the authority to start to issue cannabis business licenses on July 1, 2024. It would have allowed medical cannabis providers as well as industrial hemp processors to take part in a transitional recreational sales period that would have started July 1, 2023.
Republican Del. Michael Webert’s failed House Bill 1750 would have allowed the CCA to begin to issue licenses Jan. 1, 2024, with sales not to start before Jan. 1, 2025
Youngkin didn’t directly address whether he’d sign off on a recreational market when questioned about it by ABC News in late January. He said he was focused on measures related to hemp regulation and consumer protections.
“Let me be clear, the bill I am tracking and looking for is a bill that deals with hemp and delta-8 and the regulations and consumer safety around those products. Right now, we have products that are being mislabeled, mis-sold and targeted towards children,” Youngkin told the news station.
Green Leaf Medical, which is the state-sanctioned medical cannabis provider for the Richmond region, is one of only a handful of legal commercial growing operations currently allowed in Virginia. (BizSense file)
Amid the deaths of similar bills in the House of Delegates, legislation that would establish a recreational cannabis retail market in Virginia took a step forward on Thursday when it passed out of the Senate’s finance committee on its way to a vote by the full Senate.
The legislation would allow the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, the state’s cannabis regulator, to begin to issue licenses for cannabis businesses on July 1, 2024, if it becomes law.
The bill also would allow existing state-sanctioned medical cannabis companies to grow and sell recreational cannabis products starting July 1 of this year.
The legislation is Senate Bill 1133 and is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Adam Ebbin.
While it is currently legal to grow, possess and consume cannabis for personal recreational use in the Old Dominion, it remains illegal to sell recreational cannabis. Only state-approved medical cannabis operators can sell in Virginia. Elements of the 2021 legislation that legalized personal marijuana use require re-enactment to set the stage for the launch of a full recreational market.
Sen. Adam Ebbin
SB 1133 would give the CCA the power to award and revoke licenses needed to operate recreational cannabis businesses and to regulate the recreational market. The legislation would allow the authority the ability to grant licenses for cultivators, manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers.
The legislation would limit cannabis retail stores to no more than 1,500 square feet in size.
As proposed in the bill, there would be no ceiling on the number of licenses that could be awarded by the CCA, though it would allow the authority to create license limits if it wanted to do so.
The bill would allow local governments to hold voter referendums on whether to prohibit marijuana businesses from operating within their jurisdictions.
The Senate’s finance and appropriations committee voted to advance SB 1133 to the full Senate without discussion after the vote.
Ebbin’s previous attempt at creating a recreational market died last year in a House of Delegates committee. SB 1133, should it pass in the Senate this session, would likewise be weighed by a committee in the House before it would have a chance to be voted on by the full House. If the House approves the bill, it would then head to the governor’s desk for his consideration.
But while the legislation took a step forward, it’s not a sure bet that 2023 will be the year recreational marijuana sales are made legal in Virginia. Two Republican-sponsored retail market bills failed to advance in the House earlier this week. And Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s position on the rollout of a retail market is unclear.
The killed bill sponsored by Republican Del. M. Keith Hodges (House Bill 1464) would have allowed the authority to start to issue cannabis business licenses on July 1, 2024. It would have allowed medical cannabis providers as well as industrial hemp processors to take part in a transitional recreational sales period that would have started July 1, 2023.
Republican Del. Michael Webert’s failed House Bill 1750 would have allowed the CCA to begin to issue licenses Jan. 1, 2024, with sales not to start before Jan. 1, 2025
Youngkin didn’t directly address whether he’d sign off on a recreational market when questioned about it by ABC News in late January. He said he was focused on measures related to hemp regulation and consumer protections.
“Let me be clear, the bill I am tracking and looking for is a bill that deals with hemp and delta-8 and the regulations and consumer safety around those products. Right now, we have products that are being mislabeled, mis-sold and targeted towards children,” Youngkin told the news station.