Democratic lawmakers finalize bill for marijuana sales; Youngkin opposed

On Thursday, Democrats merged two bills into one by agreeing on when marijuana sales would begin, how to limit the size of retail shops and how to address Black residents who were disproportionately targeted by old marijuana laws. 

The House’s General Law committee, controlled by Democrats, approved Senate Bill 448 on a party-line vote of 12-10. Sponsored by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, the legislation incorporates language from the competing bill, which had been introduced by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax.

The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee voted 9-5 to approve Krizek’s House Bill 698. 

Krizek called the unified bill “responsible and thoughtful.”

But getting it past Gov. Glenn Youngkin remains a challenge. He doesn’t favor the legislation, and all 10 Republicans in the committee voted to reject it. 

Virginia legalized the consumption of recreational marijuana for adults in 2021 but did not create a framework for legally buying and selling it. In the absence of a legal market, a $3 billion black market has emerged. The marijuana being sold in the state is unlicensed, untested and untaxed.

“If you don’t like marijuana, you shouldn’t want drug dealers on the streets selling unlicensed, untested products,” said Greg Habeeb, a lawyer and former state delegate who represents the Virginia Cannabis Association.

Sales would begin May 1

If the bill is approved, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would begin accepting business licenses on Sept. 1. The authority would create five kinds of licenses: retail stores, transportation, processing, cultivation and testing. A company could hold multiple licenses. 

On May 1, 2025, legal sales would begin. The date is later than the bill initially proposed. 

A store selling marijuana could not contain more than 2,500 square feet of retail floor space. Growers would be limited by the number of plants they can house in an indoor facility. Small growers could have an unlimited number of plants outdoors, and licenses would distinguish between large and small businesses.

The board would create a liaison and support team to help minority and small businesses overcome barriers to succeeding in the industry and help them plan their businesses. The support team would reach out to Black communities and low-income areas that had been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition in the past. 

Licensing fees and taxes would be used to help entrepreneurs in the industry. On Equity, there would be a micro business support program, overseen by the cannabis control authority, wholly funded by the licensing fees collected by the authority in the first year. After that time, the program would be supported by tax revenue from retail sales.

Other fee money would go to child care programs and substance abuse prevention.

An applicant’s race would not be considered for awarding business licenses. 

Marijuana would be taxed at 9%, with half the revenue going to the locality and half to the state. Keeping costs low is important to legislators, because buyers will remain in the black market if legal cannabis becomes too expensive. 

Pro-cannabis groups in support

The measure has gained the approval of several pro-cannabis groups, including the Virginia Cannabis Association, Marijuana Justice and the designated medical marijuana dispensary of Northern Virginia, Jushi. No cannabis groups spoke in opposition.  

One Republican, Del. Carrie Coyner, Chesterfield, said she could support the bill with minor changes. 

Opponents raise concerns about kids

The Virginia Catholic Conference opposes the creation of a legal marketplace. Tom Intorcio, a spokesperson for the group, said it would compound the mental health crisis kids and teens are already facing.

Intorcio expressed skepticism that creating a legal market would extinguish the black market. In Maine, far more cannabis is sold illegally, even though the state has a legal marketplace. Some of the illicit cannabis has been linked to transnational criminal organizations. 

“It really hasn’t been an effective model,” Intorcio said of the legal market.

Todd Gathje of the Family Foundation said the bill would put a pot shop “on every street corner.”

“I have kids and I don’t want them to be around this,” he said.  

Earlier this month The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Virginia State Police Association and the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association sent a letter to all 140 members of the General Assembly saying that legalizing retail sales would undermine Youngkin’s efforts to improve Virginia’s behavioral health system.

Youngkin has given strong indications that he would not sign such a measure.

He told reporters last month: “I just don’t have a lot of interest in pressing forward with marijuana legislation.”

The House and Senate rectified their differences without going through the typical method, called a conference committee. Those meetings are held behind closed doors, and legislators iron out the differences between their bills. 

Instead, lawmakers came to an agreement before the bills gained final approval. Two more Senate committees need to hear them, and senators and delegates will have to approve them in a final vote. 

Habib called the process the “most transparent way possible” to write a bill.