RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia's long-awaited rollout of a retail marijuana market faces new uncertainty as Gov. Abigail Spanberger proposes sweeping changes to legislation passed by the General Assembly.
The proposed amendments have sparked pushback from Democrats and marijuana advocates. Lawmakers will gather at the State Capitol on Wednesday to take up the governor's vetoes and amendments.
Among the changes, Spanberger proposed moving the start date for recreational cannabis sales in Virginia from January 2027 to July 2027.
She said the extra time is needed to get the implementation right, including clearer enforcement, stronger regulations and more time to build out oversight.
"My goal is to make sure that there's great clarity both in implementation and in the ending retail market that we end up with. And so delaying it by six months, I think is a necessary time frame," Spanberger said.
Spanberger also wants to reduce the number of retail stores at the start from 350 to 200.
Other changes include increased penalties for consuming marijuana in public and making it a Class 2 felony, punishable by life in prison, for anyone convicted of transporting 50 pounds or more of marijuana into Virginia with the intent to sell or distribute.
The proposals are facing strong opposition from advocates who warn the changes could roll back years of reform.
"As a cannabis policy expert, these amendments do not achieve her goals. What they will do is continue endangering Black, Brown and young Virginians and every community in the Commonwealth," National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ((NORML) Development Director JM Pedini said.
"There's no way that we can go backwards, basically rewinding decriminalization across the Commonwealth," Marijuana Justice Executive Director Chelsea Higgs Wise said.
Lawmakers will have the option of either accepting or rejecting Spanberger's proposed changes.
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