Virginia lawmakers advanced a handful of drug policy bills on Wednesday—including measures to legalize commercial cannabis sales in the commonwealth, seal records related to marijuana and begin planning access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans.
Subcommittee Transportation and Public Safety, House Appropriations Committee has approved the Legal Sales Bill (HB 2485) from Del. Paul Krizek (D), on a 5–3 vote. Next, it will be sent to the entire committee.
In the meantime, the Senate version passed Tuesday out of its committee and will now be heard by the entire Senate.
The law, if it is passed, will allow adult marijuana users 21 years and older to obtain up to two ounces from state-licensed retail outlets that are regulated. Sales will not start before May 1, 2020, although the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority can issue business licenses as soon as this September.
Taxes on purchases of marijuana for adult use could reach up to 11.625%. Only with voter approval could local governments ban marijuana businesses. In the state, marijuana possession and cultivation at home are already legal.
Glenn Youngkin vetoed a proposal for legal sales last year. Youngkin is expected to veto the bill, even if it passes the legislature.
Earlier in the day, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 10–4 to advance a broad bill to seal a variety of criminal records, including “all possession of marijuana charges and convictions.”
The bill SB 1466, sponsored by Sen. Scott Surovell(D), also changes the process for sealing records in relation to cannabis paraphernalia offenses.
The Resources Subcommittee adopted an amendment on Tuesday to move the proposed enactment date to July 1, 2026. According to staff, this change was made to enable Virginia State Police implement the changes.
Surovell, at the hearing of the subcommittee, said that he was concerned by the delayed implementation. He added that the police had never spoken to him before about the changes. “I’m concerned about this delayed enactment,” Surovell said at the subcommittee hearing, adding that the state police never talked to him about it.
After the panel pointed out that there is still plenty of time in the 30-day state session left to adjust the bill, he agreed to allow the legislation to move forward.
Full Senate committee unanimously approved SB 1101, a drug-related measure introduced by Sen. Ghazala hashmi (D), which would have established a fund that supports clinical trials for veterans, FDA-designated breakthrough therapies, including psychedelics such as MDMA or psilocybin.
A substitute version was adopted by the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee earlier this year that did not mention the fund. It only included a section of Hashmi’s original proposal to establish a state advisory board of six members to review and recommend further therapies.
The report of the council is due by December 1, 2020 to both legislators and governors.
In terms of the effort to legalize the commercial sale of cannabis in the State, Krizek’s proposal and that from Sen. Aaron Rouse(D) incorporate compromises made by stakeholders last legislative term.
Here’s what Virginia’s reintroduced marijuana sales legislation, SB 970 and HB 2485, would do:
- Retail sales may begin by May 1, 2026.
- Adults could purchase up 2.5 ounces or equivalent cannabis products in a single transaction.
- Retail sales of cannabis products would be subject to a tax up to 11.625%. The state would impose a tax on retail sales and usage of up to 11.625%, in addition to the 8 percent new tax. Local governments can levy another 2.5 percent.
- Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (VCCA) would regulate and license the industry. The board would be able to regulate the possession, testing, transport, distribution and delivery of marijuana.
- Local governments may ban marijuana-related establishments but only after voters have approved an opt out referendum.
- Retail outlets cannot be more than 1,000 feet apart from other marijuana sellers.
- Cannabis cultivation would be limited by the canopy size, which is a measure of space dedicated to cannabis. Both indoor and outdoor marijuana cultivation would be allowed, though only growers in lower tiers—with lower limits on canopy size—could grow plants outside. The larger growers will need to keep their plants inside. As indoor cultivation, secure greenhouses are acceptable.
- The legislation would only allow direct face-to-face transaction. Other avenues such as drive-through windows and vending machine, online sales platforms, or delivery services would be prohibited.
- Existing providers of medical marijuana who enter the adult market can apply for up to five retail outlets, all located at their licensed facility.
- The maximum serving size would be 10 milligrams of THC. This means that no package could contain more than 100mg THC.
- A person cannot hold or be awarded more than 5 licenses in total, excluding transporter’s licenses.
- A person who has been convicted for a felony or a crime involving moral depravity within the last 7 years is not eligible for licensure. The same goes for employees in police and sheriff departments if the department’s responsibility includes the enforcement of criminal, traffic, or motor vehicle law of the Commonwealth.
- A microbusiness equity program grants licenses only to those entities owned at least two thirds by their eligible applicants. These include individuals with cannabis convictions in the past, as well as family members and military veterans. Other criteria includes individuals that have spent at least three years of the last five in an “historically disadvantaged area,” individuals who went to school there, or individuals with a Pell grant.
- In order to be considered a “historically economically challenged community”, a place must have marijuana possession offences that are at least 150 percent higher than the state average from 2009-2019.
- The tax revenue generated by the program will first be used to cover costs associated with administering and enforcing California’s cannabis laws. The remaining 60 percent will go towards the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund. 25 percent goes to substance abuse disorder treatment and prevention. 10 percent is allocated for pre-K program funding. 5 percent funds a campaign that promotes public awareness and health.
- As part of another sale, adults could share up to two and half ounces of marijuana with others without remuneration. However, gray-market gifting of marijuana would result in a misdemeanor of Class 2, and Class 1 for subsequent offenses.
- There would be a number of new criminal punishments. Selling or giving marijuana, or paraphernalia, to anyone under 21 would, for instance, be punishable with up to one year in prison and maximum fine of $2,500, just as selling cannabis to a person who is reasonably suspected to be drunk would. A Class 1 misdemeanor would be to promote the sale or distribution of marijuana paraphernalia for people younger than 21.
- A Class 1 misdemeanor would result if you knew that someone younger than 21 was obtaining marijuana for your benefit.
- A person under the age of 21 found to be in possession or using marijuana, or attempting to do so, could face a fine up to $25, and may also have to enroll in a program to treat substance misuse disorders or to receive education.
- The illegal cultivation of marijuana (excluding legal homegrown) would constitute a Class 6-felony punishable with up to 5 years in prison and $2,500.
- The use of volatile solvents or butane in the extraction process would result in a class 1 misdemeanor.
Youngkin blocked minor reforms to cannabis law in the past session. In one case, Youngkin rejected a different proposal which would have prohibited the state from considering the use of marijuana alone as evidence for child abuse and neglect, even though the measure had been approved by the Senate in a unanimous, or nearly-unanimous, vote.
Del. Rae Cousins (D), the bill’s sponsor, accused the governor of “turning his back on the needs of our children and neglecting their well-being by encouraging the courts to move forward with unnecessary family separations.”
Separately, last April, Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Shelton said her agency had received a sufficient number of reports of minors getting sick from cannabis products that the commonwealth would create a “special surveillance system” to track the issue.
Largest U.S. Bank ‘Probably Would’ Work With Marijuana Businesses If Federal Law Changes, Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Says