Update, 8 p.m.: The Senate also voted to approve the measure in a 20-19 vote. All Republicans opposed the bill, along with Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City.
Update, 7 p.m.: Democrats in the House of Delegates on Saturday approved a measure to legalize marijuana in Virginia as of 2024, the final vote in that chamber on the bill.
Seven Democrats did not join their caucus to support the bill, instead declining to cast a vote. Those lawmakers were Dels. Lashrecse Aird of Petersburg, Jeff Bourne of Richmond, Lee Carter of Manassas, Marcia Price of Newport News, Sam Rasoul of Roanoke, Ibraheem Samirah of Fairfax and Don Scott of Portsmouth.
All but two Republicans voted against the bill. Dels. James Edmunds of Halifax and James Morefield of Tazewell abstained.
On the floor, Price argued that many of her constituents will go to jail and will remain in jail while the state sets up legal market without legalizing possession.
“Business before justice is hard to stomach,” she said.
Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, and Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, said they were confident that Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration would propose amendments to the bill in the coming weeks to resolve some outstanding issues.
This is a developing story. Our earlier story is below.
Virginia will move ahead to legalize recreational use marijuana and erect a legal market by 2024, under a tentative agreement House and Senate Democrats reached Saturday.
The legislation would set up a new state agency to rule over the new marijuana market, but under pressure from the Senate, it would require that lawmakers come back next year to reconsider the regulatory framework for doling out licenses and the new criminal penalties that would go into effect when marijuana is legalized.
Under the bill, sales and adult possession of marijuana would be legal in 2024, according to one of the sponsors and people involved in the negotiations.
A Senate-led push to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by the summer is not included in the deal, despite strong advocacy by civil rights groups who deemed it a top priority. They argued that mere decriminalization still disproportionately harms Virginians of color. Many of those groups are now urging lawmakers to reject the bill.
The tentative agreement, which negotiators have not yet signed, will come before the two chambers on Saturday, the last day lawmakers are expected to take action on legislation for the current session.
“We are happy to have come to a compromise to move this important legislation forward,” said House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, who sponsored the House bill. “Equitable marijuana legalization is a huge step towards racial justice in the commonwealth.”
Even as Gov. Ralph Northam has been adamant in talks with legislators that marijuana legalization is a top priority, significant differences split the proposals that advanced out of the two chambers. Late into Friday, it was still not clear negotiators could resolve those issues.
“It was a lot of work to get there, but we’re on the path to an equitable law allowing for responsible adults to not be penalized for using cannabis,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill alongside Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.
On Saturday and throughout the negotiations, Northam was personally involved in cementing a deal, calling around to leaders and negotiators. As divisions threatened the measure, the administration insisted that getting the new agency off the ground was key, even as other issues require a second look next year.
Republicans have broadly opposed the proposal.
One key point of contention was a provision in the Senate version to conduct a statewide, nonbinding referendum this fall to gauge the public’s support for marijuana legalization. Several Democratic senators said the referendum would give legislators more information about public support for legalization statewide and in their districts.
A person familiar with negotiations on the House side said the provision is a nonstarter for House Democrats, who fear that putting marijuana on the ballot might put their most vulnerable members at risk. All 100 House seats are up for election this November, as is the governor’s mansion.
That argument prevailed and the referendum is not included in the tentative agreement.
Legalization of simple possession
Also at issue was whether the General Assembly should legalize simple possession of marijuana – an ounce or less – by this summer. Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, a candidate for governor, led the push to legalize marijuana this summer, arguing that if the legislature intends to legalize marijuana, it should stop punishing people for having small amounts of it.
The move had the support of civil rights groups and some lawmakers in the House, including Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, a sponsor of the measure in the House who was later not included in committee that negotiated the final deal.
The ACLU of Virginia, and the advocacy groups Marijuana Justice, RISE for Youth and Justice Forward Virginia argued in a letter Saturday that stopping the disparate enforcement of marijuana laws on people of color should not be delayed by the time frame for creating a legal market.
They urged lawmakers to reject the tentative marijuana agreement, arguing that it is “worse than the status quo,” and only symbolic in nature because of the requirement that lawmakers take another vote next year on critical portions of it.
“This bill does not advance the cause of equal justice or racial justice in Virginia,” the groups wrote. “It is the product of a closed-door legislative process that has prioritized the interests of recreational marijuana smokers over people and communities of color. The bill is a failure and we urge lawmakers to vote against it.”
Marijuana Justice’s Chelsea Higgs Wise said the groups would support a bill that created no new penalties related to marijuana and that legalized simple possession by this summer.
Marijuana Justice cited data provided by the state showing that Black Virginians are more likely to be charged that white Virginians, even as state and national data show people use marijuana at similar rates.
Of the 4,505 people cited for simple possession since the General Assembly decriminalized marijuana last summer, 52% were Black and 45% were white, while Black people make up 20% of the state’s population and white people 70%.
House lawmakers, including Herring, said legalization without a legal market and investments in substance abuse education could lead to more harm. Herring told the Richmond Times-Dispatch this month she is also wary of the illicit marijuana market ballooning to a point that would endanger the ability of the new legal market to thrive.
New criminal penalties
While the finalized language of the tentative deal was not immediately available, an outline The Times-Dispatch obtained said clauses related new criminal and civil penalties lawmakers are proposing under a legalized system would require another vote from the legislature next year.
Under the tentative agreement, once marijuana is legalized in January 2024, people would be allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. Anyone found with more than an ounce or fewer than 1 pound would face a $25 civil penalty. Possession of more than one pound would constitute a felony.
People would be allowed to share an ounce of marijuana or less with other people, as long as there is no exchange of money or goods.
People under the age of 21 would face a $25 civil penalty for possession of any marijuana, and undergo treatment and education. In addition, anyone under the age of 18 would be treated by the courts as a “delinquent minor.” Children would not be expelled from school for consuming marijuana on campus, as the Northam administration originally proposed.
Public use of marijuana would not be allowed. Driving with an open container of marijuana would result in a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $250. Law enforcement would not be able to search cars based on the odor of marijuana.
Regulatory framework
Parts of the bill dealing with the licensing structure for the new marijuana market would also require another vote from the legislature next year.
Under the tentative agreement, House and Senate lawmakers agreed to curtail “vertical integration” – the ability for one company to hold licenses for every part of the market, seed to sale. There are two exceptions: The bill would allow medical marijuana processors to hold all five licenses with certain restrictions and a $1 million contribution to the Virginia Cannabis Equity Business Loan Fund.
Micro-businesses would also be allowed to vertically integrate. The new cannabis agency would determine how small those operations should be.
The legislation also includes the creation of a licensing program that would ensure people impacted by the racially disparate enforcement of marijuana laws. Under the tentative agreement, people with a conviction for a marijuana-related crime and graduates of Virginia historically Black colleges and universities could qualify for a social equity license, as long as they have lived in Virginia for 12 months.
The agreement struck language in the Senate version that would have allowed companies to qualify for a social equity license if they employed a certain number of people who had been impacted by the disparate enforcement of marijuana laws.
Taxes and revenue
The agreement leaves untouched what the Northam administration proposed on taxes and the use of new revenues.
Marijuana purchases would be taxed at 21% statewide. Within five years, the state expects to collect more than $230 million in new revenues.
After operational costs are taken out, 40% would fund preschool for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds.
An additional 30% would go to an equity reinvestment fund that would pay for scholarships for communities impacted by substance abuse and marijuana incarceration, loans for social equity licensees, and workforce development grants. Civil rights groups argued that at least 70% of new revenues should go toward these efforts.
An additional 25% would pay for addiction prevention and treatment programs, and the remaining 5% would broadly fund state public health programs.
This is a developing story.
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