Candidates for Virginia governor clashed on marijuana policy at a debate on Thursday—with the Republican nominee saying that while she supports medical cannabis, she had a zero-tolerance policy for employee consumption as the owner of a utility repair business.
According to the GOP candidate, she feared workers with THC who worked in the gas and electric industries would “blow things up” if they tested positive.
During a gubernatorial debate, both gubernatorial candidates—former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R)—were pressed on marijuana policy issues.
Spanberger, a supporter of legalization, answered Spanberger’s question about the public safety implications for establishing a cannabis market she would be willing to establish if she were elected. Candidate Spanberger said that it was important to have transparency about what’s available in the marketplace.
As a former federal officer working narcotics, as a CIA agent tracking transnational criminal groups, and the only one on stage to have a bill passed by the President Trump that restricts fentanyl flow into the United States and tightens our border security; and, she added, “it is extremely important that transparency is maintained and there’s a market for enforcement.”
The moderator asked a follow-up question to Earle Sears. He pointed out that, under her administration, she has twice vetoed bills to establish a marijuana commercial market within the Commonwealth, even though possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults had been legalized.
When asked if she would adopt a different approach to allow commercial sales, if such a law was presented, the lieutenant-governor replied, “I do believe in medical marijuana.” It has value to me.
“But, you know, I had a business—and when I had my business and my employees came up positive for marijuana, they couldn’t work for me,” she said. They couldn’t operate my trucks. “They couldn’t drive my trucks. Wir were working with gas. Currently, we’re working with electric. We cannot afford people working who don’t understand what they are doing. “They’ll destroy everything.”
Earle-Sears is against Virginia creating a market for adult-use marijuana. He has even gone so far to suggest that cannabis is a gateway substance and that legalization “decimates communities.”
Spanberger told MEDCAN24 in November that “as Virginia moves toward creating a retail cannabis market,” the state needs a clear strategy “to set up a safe market for consumers, transparent to businesses and fair for entrepreneurs.”
She also stated that her position is that “revenues generated from the sale of commercial cannabis products should be returned to Virginian communities for reinvestment in public education and other purposes.”
Spanberger has said that if she is elected, “she will work with leaders in Virginia’s General Assembly to create a pathway forward which both prioritizes the public safety while growing Virginia’s economic.”
In the meantime, earlier in this week, a Virginia Legislative Commission convened a second meeting at which lawmakers and marijuana advocates discussed how to get ready for recreational marijuana sales to be legalized.
Del. Paul Krizek (D), chair of the Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market, began Monday’s meeting by noting it would be the second-to-last for the body—saying that at the next and final one in December, members will “go over the bill that we are working on now.”
It is planned that this body will make a suggestion that can be considered by the entire legislature in 2026, which begins in the month of January.
Use and possession of marijuana has been legal in Virginia since 2022, but retail sales remain forbidden—a situation that’s helped fuel a multibillion-dollar illicit market. Despite efforts by Democrats in past years to legalize and regulate the retail system, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, (R), has obstructed the reform by vetoing the proposals that were passed during the two previous legislative sessions.
At the legislative commission’s first meeting in July, members discussing broad regulatory considerations and other issues related to THC potency, the hemp market and more. In August, the panel focused on cannabis taxes and revenue.
Meanwhile, a top Democratic Virginia senator recently said the state should move forward with legalizing recreational marijuana sales—in part to offset the Trump administration’s cuts to federal spending in support of states.
Youngkin rejected both bills, despite the fact that the legislative body had passed two separate bills aimed at creating a regulated market of commercial cannabis following the legalization by 2022 of adult possession and consumption.
Senate President pro Tem Louise Lucas, (D), said with increased spending anticipated in Virginia due to federal initiatives, like the removal of federal dollars for welfare to state governments, that it is time to focus on alternative sources of revenue. This should include marijuana sales.
Philip Steffan provided the photo.
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