(The Center Square) – It’s looking unlikely Virginia lawmakers will vote to establish a market for retail sales of marijuana this session after the last remaining bill to do so was defeated by a House panel this week.
Lawmakers on a Republican-controlled House subcommittee voted 5-3 to defeat the last remaining Senate bill that would establish a framework for retail sales of marijuana in the commonwealth starting in 2024.
Virginia legalized possession of a small amount of marijuana in 2021, but has yet to establish a retail market. Under current law, it is legal for individuals 21 and older to possess a small amount of marijuana and to grow it, but there is no way to legally buy marijuana for recreational use.
Lawmakers attempted to push through bills establishing a retail framework for sales during last year’s session, but gridlock in the politically-divided General Assembly stalled progress.
A bill introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Arlington, would have allowed pharmaceutical processors and some franchisees from historically economically disadvantaged communities to begin selling marijuana for recreational use Jan. 1, 2024. The bill would have taxed sales at 21% with the option for localities to levy an additional 3% tax.
“It is legal to possess small amounts of cannabis, it’s legal to grow your own cannabis, yet we are kind of dragging our feet on establishing a retail market that could provide hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, could provide a tested product for adults and could be kept out of the hands of children,” Ebbin told lawmakers on the House subcommittee Tuesday.
Parker Slaybaugh, chief deputy secretary of agriculture and forestry, spoke in opposition to the Ebbin’s bill on behalf of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office Tuesday. Slayabugh said while the governor has “not taken a position” on the bill, Youngkin is more focused on signing legislation that sets regulations on hemp products and delta-8 THC, a psychoactive cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant.
A handful of bills have been introduced this session to regulate hemp products, including measures introduced in both the House and Senate to establish packaging and labeling requirements for hemp products. If the measures are passed by lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly, they are likely headed to a conference committee to reconcile differences.
With this year’s legislative session drawing to a close Feb. 25, it’s looking likely any further action on establishing a retail market for marijuana will be pushed to a future session. Next session, the make-up of the General Assembly could look very different, as all 140 seats are on the ballot this November.
