RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia could have a retail recreational marijuana market by the start of next year.
Legislation passed by the General Assembly is heading to Governor Abigail Spanberger, something she has voiced support for in the past.
Spanberger has until April 13 to sign the bill into law, veto the bill, or amend it in any way.
If approved as submitted, retail sales of marijuana could begin January 1.
People 21 years old and older could purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana at a time.
"We are thrilled to have the retail bill on the way to a governor's desk that is truly considering," said Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of Marijuana Justice.
"This marks another historic victory for cannabis progress in the South," said JM Pedini, development director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and state director for Virginia NORML.
The market will be overseen by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) which could begin accepting license applications to the various levels of the industry (such as cultivation, transportation, retail) starting in September 2026.
To start with, there will be a cap of 350 retail marijuana stores in Virginia until January 1, 2028, after which the CCA has the ability to determine if the market could sustain more stores. Retail stores could not be built within 1,000 feet of hospitals, schools, or daycare centers.
Medical marijuana license holders could enter the recreational retail market if they pay a $10-million fee.
There would be limits and caps on the number and types of licenses a company could hold, depending on the type of license, with the maximum being five.
"We're very deliberate and prescriptive in the language regarding the types of licenses, the size of the licensee, the tier, how many license you are allowed to have," said Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D-Henrico), one of the bill's sponsors.
Retail marijuana sales will be taxed at 6% at the state level, and localities can set a local tax rate between 1% and 3.5%. Those involved said they tried to find a sweet spot that will drive out the illicit market and compare to what is in other states with legal sales.
"Those states that were too aggressive went too high, and now their illicit market continues to thrive, despite them having a retail marketplace arranged," Aird said.
"While Virginia would be the state furthest south with legal marijuana sales, we do want to stay competitive with our neighbors to the north," Pedini added.
The state's portion of revenues are allocated through the legislation. With 40% to support early childhood care and early childhood education, 30% to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund (CERF), 25% to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Service (to be used for substance use disorder treatment and prevention), and 5% to public health programs.
The CERF money will go towards helping communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and provide zero- to low-interest loans to "impact licensees" entering the industry (the legislation lists who qualifies as an impact licensee).
"Because some individuals that have been negatively impacted by past cannabis laws or the so called war on drugs, we want them to feel welcomed into this marketplace. Now that Virginia is transitioning to this environment," Aird said.
However, for some advocates, the time frame to get this going is too fast.
Wise said smaller companies will be at a disadvantage and would rather it be started when 30% of the industry is ready to go.
"That means that business owners will not have a place in the supply chain. That means that prices will be typically high for consumers, and honestly, it also means a lower bottom line of revenue coming into the state," said Wise. "We're just as eager to get the market started very quickly, but we understand that once we open up, we won't be able to close this again."
But Pedini said sales should begin as soon as possible.
"In order to begin transitioning consumers away from the unregulated marketplace to the regulated marketplace where their products will be accurately tested and clearly labeled," Pedini said.
Aird said the January 1 date was picked primarily in consultation with regulators.
"Because the thing that is most important is to have a marketplace that is going to allocate licensees fairly, that is going to allow the application process to be conducted fairly, and to ensure that once sales are legal, we have all of our regulations in place," Aird said.
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