A Virginia state Senator says he is “confident” lawmakers will be able to send a bill to regulate and tax marijuana sales to Governor. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, in the next year. It is now up to supporters to build enough bipartisan backing in order for a veto not be triggered.
In an interview with a local television station that aired on the weekend, Sen. Adam Ebbin, a Democrat, said, “I’m confident that, thanks to Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, we can pass a bill that will reach the governor.” The challenge will be to get the bill to bipartisan. We want to show the governor that there is bipartisan support.
Ebbin told ABC affiliate WSET that he was unable to provide details about the upcoming proposal because “we are still working on the final draft with legislative services.”
He added that the main focus of the bill was to legalize cannabis sales for consenting adults, and to crack down on the illegal black market. This would ensure that adults who choose to use marijuana get a product which is safer and tested than a black market product unregulated that you don’t really know what you are buying.
In 2021, Virginia legislators, led by Democrats, l equitized the use, possess and limited personal cultivation by adults. Republicans blocked the required reenactment of regulatory frameworks for retail sales after they gained control of the state House of Delegates in 2021. The Democratic-controlled Senate passed a legal sales regulation bill this year, but a GOP House majority killed the legislation.
Storefronts that are illegal and unlicensed have proliferated in the state without a place where consumers can legally purchase cannabis.
After the November elections, Democrats now have majorities both in the House of Representatives and Senate , which some supporters see as a way to allow legal sales.
Ebbin stated in a new interview that “what’s still not legal is the regulated sales of tested products which are taxed in the Commonwealth and available to adults older than 21.” “It appears to me and many Virginians that if marijuana is legal, you should be allowed to purchase it legally.”
He said that while medical patients are able to purchase products through dispensaries today, he warned that unregulated products sold on the illegal market are not only illegal, but “potentially hazardous, as the products they buy aren’t being tested.”
Ebbin blamed the GOP for the lack of legal marijuana, noting that the “House of Delegates was the main obstacle in terms of a well-thought-out regulatory system, largely due to the Republican leadership.”
Former Speaker of the House, Del. Todd Gilbert (R), said he, would not allow a regulation bill to progress “and wouldn’t put forward his own positive plan.”
It’s not clear how Ebbin’s bill, which would legalize the commercial sale of cannabis, will do. He was the champion for the 2021 legalization legislation in California. The bill is expected to be introduced in the coming session by Ebbin, who championed the state’s 2021 legalization law. However, it’s unclear how well this proposal will do.
Chelsea Higgs Wise is the executive director of Marijuana Justice. She has stated that Democrats should use their new powers to pass a law that centers on social equity, and that repairs for the drug war’s harms are built into the frameworks for legal sales.
After the last election, Wise said to Marijuana Moment: “I believe the Democrats need to use their power and energy to ensure that they are committed to the community and guarantee their engagement in future campaigns.”
She acknowledged, however, that “the community will have to press these legislators so they have the political willingness not to make this simple.”
Other Democrats want a more rapid approach to legal sales. JM Pedini told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview that the Democratic majority should pass a simple bill that Youngkin could sign without having to do so. Pedini said Marijuana Moment that if Youngkin vetoes a bill, Democrats will not be able to reverse it.
Pedini stated that, “without the supermajority needed to overturn a negative veto,” any legislation addressing adult-use must be pragmatic and appealing to achieve success. This measure must be simple to understand, have a limited scope and enjoy strong bipartisan support.
Ebbin is more inclined to take the second path for now. Last month, he told Marijuana Moment that “politics is an art of the possible.”
Wise, at Marijuana Justice however, does not believe that Democrats can avoid Youngkin’s Youngkin veto by compromising with Republicans.
“I think that Gov. She said that Youngkin would make sure that the whole nation knew that he was able to veto a Virginia adult sales bill. “He would do anything to put that on his Republican résumé.”
Marijuana Moment tracks more than 1,000 cannabis and drug policy bills that have been introduced in state legislatures, and Congress. Patreon supporters who pledge at least $25/month gain access to our interactive charts, maps and hearing calendar.
Discover more about our marijuana bills tracker. Become a Patreon supporter to gain access.
—
The governor’s comments are less clear. While Youngkin’s Administration has shown a reluctance to push forward with further reforms for adult-use marijuana, his own remarks have not been as clear.
Youngkin, a local media outlet VPM told the local public broadcaster that he did not write legislation on their behalf. This was in February when Ebbin’s separate sales bill was still being debated. “I’ve said it over and over, that I believe creating a cannabis market is very complex. Other states have had to struggle, and they need to do the work. “I’ve seen them sending me bills.”
Ebbin, who saw the Republican-controlled House vote down a Senate-passed sales measure in the 2022 session, told Marijuana Moment in October that Youngkin “has been a challenge to deal with because he hasn’t been forthcoming with his views on what he’s willing to support.”
He said, “I don’t know what the Governor will sign since he has been kind of cagey in his public comments and not really supportive,” at the time.
Ebbin said to Marijuana Moment that it is possible for Democrats to rally around a narrow bill designed to appeal to Youngkin, only to see the governor veto that same bill. “Yeah. I would say that there would be substantial chance that.”
According to a Gallup survey released last month, the majority of Republicans and 70 percent of Americans in general support legalizing marijuana.
Wise stated last month that, while Ebbin was the most vocal about his intention to introduce a bill on sales, other newly-elected officials could have a major impact on what legislation looks like. She noted that the election was not only a victory for Democrats but also for Black candidates.
She said: “I think that Black legislators are popping up and that Black leadership in the Virginia Legislature,” “and that I believe will be driving force for us to keep our promise to do this fairly since 2021.”
The consensus among advocates is that a Democratic victory will thwart any GOP-led attempts to roll back legalization.
Pedini, NORML’s Pedini, said that Virginia’s progress in cannabis law reform would be protected. In recent years, multiple attempts were made to recriminalize possession of marijuana, repeal the prohibition against stops and searches solely based on marijuana smell, and enact DUID per se limits for THC. The Democratic majority in both chambers ensures that such bills will never reach the floor.
Ebbin’s bill from the past legislative session would have allowed recreational cannabis sales to begin on January 1, 2024. The sales would have been made through medical cannabis dispensaries and new businesses operated by people living in “historically economic disadvantaged communities”. These operators would also be eligible for support and training from existing medical cannabis companies.
The law also contained provisions to resentencing people who are currently in prison for cannabis convictions. The marijuana products would have been subjected to an excise duty of 21 percent, with localities able to add a further three percent. The revenue would have been used to support reinvestment programmes for historically economically depressed communities, education programs for youth at risk and addiction prevention services.
After the GOP-controlled House rejected this proposal, they also killed a separate bill which would have allowed medical cannabis businesses to make certain state-level deductions. Republicans also killed separate legislation that would have create an advisory board for psilocybin and reschedule psychedelic.
In Virginia, several businesses that sell hemp products were recently fined five-figure sums in an effort to crackdown on hemp cannabinoid product.
Two companies, as well as a private citizen, have also filed a lawsuit over the new tightened rules for the hemp products. These set the maximum THC concentration in hemp products to 0.3 percent and 2 milligrams each package. This threshold rendered hundreds products that were already available illegal. In October, however, a court denied their claim.
Georgia Pharmacist Very Disappointed With DEA Warning letter On Dispensing medical marijuana, Saying That It Is An Opioid Alternate
The article Virginia senator is ‘confident’ that bill legalizing marijuana sales can reach the Governor’s desk first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
