Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, (R), vetoed on Friday a bill that would have prohibited the state from using only marijuana as evidence of abuse or neglect. This was a blow to the advocates who spent years trying to pass the reform.
Youngkin had until Friday midnight to either sign the bill HB 833 or veto it, or allow it to take effect without signing. He could also have sent back the bill to legislators with a request for changes.
His office announced around 8 pm that he had vetoed this bill. This was one of 84 bills he had acted on. Of those, 64 were signed by him. Eight he vetoed. And 12 he sent back to be amended.
Youngkin, in his veto of the Cannabis Parental Rights Bill, wrote: “The proposed legislation is a nonexistent problem that could have potential consequences which may harm children.”
He added that “Child Protective Service (CPS), referrals rarely, or never, include screening solely on the basis of parents’ legal use marijuana or controlled substances.” In most cases, additional risk factors are involved, such as impaired supervision, drug access or paraphernalia or the parent’s inability meet their child’s basic requirements. Unintended consequences can endanger child safety and prevent local social services departments from taking necessary protective measures. This disrupts current CPS policies by compromising the balance of the approach.
The legislation, if enacted, would also have provided that drug tests in child custody and visitor matters “shall not include testing for any substance allowed for lawful adult use” under the state alcohol, cannabis, and drug laws. The bill states that a person’s “lawful consumption or possession” of these substances “shall not be a basis for restricting custody or visitation, unless other facts prove it is not in the child’s best interests.”
A clause of enactment would have required the State Board of Social Services (SBSS) to amend their regulations, guidance documents, and other materials in order to conform to the provisions of this bill.
In his veto, the governor said that the measure “undermines a tangible link between substance abuse and harm to children. This is evident in the increase in calls to poison control centers and visits to emergency rooms for children who consume cannabis-infused substances after the approval of personal marijuana ownership.”
“The blanket exclusion places children in danger by potentially compromising their welfare,” wrote. This is a serious threat to the safety of children, as it could shield parents who use or possess substances from scrutiny. This failure to take into account nuanced circumstances undermines a child’s best interest and contradicts our efforts in addressing substance abuse within families and communities.
The Senate passed the bill with a near-unanimous vote. In the House, there was a more polarized vote, with Democrats generally favoring it, but some Republicans also voted for it.
It will now return to the legislature where it must be approved by two-thirds of both chambers in order to override Youngkin’s veto. The Senate version, SB 115 also passed this session, but hasn’t yet been sent to the Governor.
Advocates said Youngkin’s veto came as a blow after all the effort they put into crafting the bill and getting it through the legislature–including incorporating feedback from Senate lawmakers and the governor’s office itself.
Chelsea Higgs Wise is the executive director of Marijuana Justice and told Marijuana Moment that she was “disappointed” at the veto. “We won’t stop trying to remove the layers of family policing that outdated marijuana laws have created. We apologize on behalf of the Commonwealth to the families who will be affected by this while the administration takes another year to align the family policy to current decriminalization.
She said that the organizers will “be back next year, and every year, until we get it just right.”
JM Pedini – NORML’s Development Director and Executive Director for Virginia NORML – rebutted Youngkin’s claim that the bill aims to solve a nonexistent problem.
Pedini, speaking to Marijuana Moment, said that “our office has received many calls and emails from parents whose children have been denied custody or visitation due solely because they used medical cannabis lawfully. This was not because of CPS intervention but rather during custody battles.” This bill would have clarified to the courts that legal and responsible cannabis usage is not a sufficient reason to deny visitation or custody. This bill was necessary, and it was introduced in order to stop the harm that Virginia parents and their children are experiencing. “We will fight for those families that have been torn apart.”
The marijuana-related legislation will be one of many measures on Youngkin’s desk during this session . Other measures include a proposal that would legalize and regulate the retail sale of cannabis to adults. It would also resentence those serving time for previous cannabis offenses, and protect workers in the public sector from discrimination because they use medical marijuana.
The governor can act more quickly on other proposals due to legislative procedures. But earlier in the week, the sponsor of the legislation on retail sales warned that the bill might “go up in smoke” if a deal with the Governor went south.
However, the governor’s office has repeatedly stated that Youngkin was not on board with this proposal. His press secretary made a statement to Marijuana Moment in which he referred to Youngkin’s earlier comments, in which he “said he didn’t have much interest in pushing forward with marijuana legalization.”
It’s not clear how the governor feels about the other marijuana bills, given his silence this session on cannabis.
In Virginia, cannabis possession, use, and limited cultivation by adults are already legal. This is the result of a Democrat proposal that was approved by legislators in 2021. Adults can’t legally purchase the drug. Illicit shops have sprung up in response to consumer demand. Some estimates value the unregulated market around $3 billion.
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The article Virginia GOP governor Vetoes Marijuana parental rights bill that passed legislature with bipartisan support first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
