Virginia Gov Vetoes Legislation Regulating Marijuana Sales

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has vetoed legislation (HB642 and SB542) permitting licensed retailers to sell marijuana products to those age 21 and older. This means that adult consumers will continue to lack regulated in-state access to cannabis products, despite lawmakers initially legalizing marijuana in 2021.

NORML’s Development Director JM Pedini, who also serves as the Executive Director of Virginia NORML, sharply criticized the governor’s decision.

“It is outrageous that five years after Virginia lawmakers first approved legalization, there still exists no regulated cannabis sales system outside of the state-licensed medical program,” they said. “Governor Spanberger’s veto is a profound disappointment to the many Virginia voters who believed her when she said on the campaign trail that she supported establishing a regulated adult-use cannabis market. It is also a slap in the face to the years of serious work undertaken by lawmakers, policy experts, advocates, public health stakeholders, and regulators who spent more than half a decade researching, debating, and carefully crafting this legislation.”

They added: “Rather than build upon that work, the Governor dismissed it in favor of out-of-touch proposals to recriminalize cannabis consumers, proposals that lawmakers rightly rejected. Now, instead of finally taking marijuana out of smoke shops and placing it behind an age-verified counter, Virginia is once again being forced to tolerate another yet year of dangerous illicit market activity in every corner of the Commonwealth. Just as was the case under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, unlicensed and predatory operators will continue to profit while public health and safety are left unprotected.”

Governor Spanberger said in an interview last August that she would sign the legislation: “I support a legal marketplace for cannabis. I want to ensure that it is fully regulated, people know what they’re buying, and revenues go towards education.”

Despite previously expressing support for enacting retail cannabis sales, she abruptly changed her stance in April. That’s when she called for numerous amendments to House Bill 642 and Senate Bill 542 — many of which either rolled back or repealed key elements of Virginia’s existing decriminalization and legalization laws. Lawmakers rejected the amendments and returned the bill to the Governor without any changes.

Just over over one week ago, a coalition of national and state organizations — led by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws — sent a letter to the Governor urging her to allow the bills to become law. Virginia NORML also promoted a separate action alert encouraging voters to contact the Governor’s office. Over 2,300 Virginians contacted the Governor in support of the retail sales bills.

Sixty percent of registered Virginia voters favor allowing for the sale of adult-use marijuana products by licensed retailers, according to statewide polling data compiled earlier this year by The Wason Center at Christopher Newport University.

Virginia is the only legal adult-use state that does not currently regulate the retail sale of cannabis products.

Additional information is available from Virginia NORML.

Related