A worker holds a cannibis leaf as they trim cannibis plants that are close to harvest in a grow room at the Greenleaf Medical Cannabis facility in Richmond, Va., Thursday, June 17, 2021. (Steve Helber/AP)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a staunch opponent of marijuana, will likely once again block the creation of a retail marijuana market in Virginia.
The Virginia Senate on Wednesday passed a House bill that would create a legal retail marijuana market in Virginia, though Gov. Glenn Youngkin will almost certainly veto the legislation.
The bill would establish a framework for lawmakers to create a retail marijuana market in Virginia that would be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (VCCA). The bill would allow the VCCA to issue marijuana licenses starting on Sept. 1, 2025, but forbids retail sales from beginning until May 1, 2026.
“This bill that passed today picked up three Republican votes in the House and is our best opportunity to regulate the market and protect the public,” Del. Paul Krizek, who introduced the bill in the House, said in a statement to The Dogwood.
The Senate passed the bill in a 21-18 vote. The fate of the recreational marijuana market bill now rests with Youngkin, a staunch opponent of marijuana who vetoed similar legislation last year. Youngkin’s office did not respond when asked if the governor had ever tried cannabis.
Virginia in 2021 became the first state in the South to legalize marijuana. Adults 21 and over can legally possess and grow marijuana. Medical cannabis is also legal and medical dispensaries are open throughout the state. But it still isn’t legal to buy and sell marijuana for recreational use.
In a January speech, Youngkin cited concerns about the impacts of marijuana use on young people and suggested states that have legal marijuana markets have seen a range of negative side effects in areas like crime, public safety, and mental health.
Supporters of creating a legal marijuana market in Virginia beg to differ.
Youngkin’s position is out of step with most Virginians and leaves young people and adults alike exposed to the “unregulated, illicit operators” who currently control Virginia’s marijuana market, according to JM Pedini, development director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
“Taking marijuana off the street corner and out of the corner store is a public safety priority, not a political agenda,” said Pedini, who also serves as the executive director of Virginia NORML. “Governor Youngkin’s head-in-the-sand approach to cannabis policy endangers the health and safety of his constituents.”
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