The Senate’s proposal to legalize the commercial sale of marijuana in Virginia cleared a major hurdle on Friday, passing 10-5 in the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services. To stay in the current session, the bill must quickly advance through other committees.
SB 448 from Sen. Aaron Rouse, (D), will allow adult-use marijuana business licenses to be issued in July this year. Retail licenses won’t become available until 2025. Local governments could ban commercial cannabis activities, but only if voters approved.
The measure will now be sent to the Senate Courts of Justice Committee for approval next week. The bill would then be sent to the Finance and Appropriations Committee where it must land by February 5, in order to remain on the table. The Senate has a crossover deadline of February 13 before which it must send the bill to House which is currently considering its own cannabis legislation.
“We’re working hard to create a framework which articulates values about how we want to see this market evolve,” said Sen. Barbara Favola, who chairs the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee on Friday. We have a framework that addresses equity, license limitations and delegates a good amount of authority to the [Cannabis Control Authority].
A day earlier, at a Senate Cannabis Subcommittee Hearing lawmakers chose Rouse’s bill over the competing plan of Sen. Adam Ebbin, (D), SB 423, which would have permitted existing medical marijuana dispensaries begin sales to adult customers more quickly. Critics claimed that the carveout was unfair and would allow existing businesses to dominate the adult market.
Before Friday’s voting, Sen. Scott Surovell, a Democrat who presided over Thursday’s cannabis committee meeting, explained that “we chose to use Sen. Rouse’s vehicle instead of Sen. Ebbin’s because there are some big differences in timing and structure.”
Surovell pointed out that a bill similar to Ebbin’s had also been submitted in the House. He told the committee that the bill is “likely” to be sent to the Senate. “And the Senate approach puts us, we believe, in the best position to negotiate.”
As Surovell described, Rouse’s bill would license five categories of businesses–cultivators, manufacturers, transporters, retailers and testing laboratories–which would be regulated by the state’s existing Cannabis Control Authority.
Surovell responded to Favola’s question about whether the same person could hold multiple licenses. He said that an individual can invest in different tiers but cannot be the controlling owner of every business. He added that if the bill is passed, regulators will make additional rules.
Surovell explained that “all of this really depends on the Cannabis Control Authority drafting regulations that will further clarify a lot,” he said. This is a 180 page bill…and CCA needs to work on a lot details.”
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The Senate fiscal and court committees have not yet discussed the tax provisions of the bill or its impact on criminal justice laws.
A change was requested during the hearing on Friday. It would redefine the way cultivators are measured. The bill currently limits the biggest tier of growers to 2,000 plants. The industry advocates would like to replace this with a cap on the size of the canopy. This is the space in which plants are grown.
“Two Thousand Plants is Nothing.” A representative of Jushi, an operator in multiple states, said that two thousand plants would not be enough to tackle the illicit market. The company, however, uses 12 plants per patient to extract the medicine it needs.
He said, “We should use a standard market size for canopy space like 100,000 square feet.” “We won’t get to where we need be with 2,000 plants.”
Rouse, however, reacted angrily to the change.
He said that the current definition is more flexible for small businesses and makes it easier to track plant counts.
“The CCA can certainly address this but as the sponsor of this bill, it is not a friendly amendement.”
Chelsea Higgs Wise is an advocate for the group Marijuana Justice. She encouraged lawmakers to leave the matter in the hands of regulators. She pointed out that, under the current state medical marijuana program for cultivators, there is no canopy limit.
She said that when we compare what we do on adult use, it’s important to make sure that we don’t limit our adult use while allowing others to continue on the market.
The current bill would bar people with criminal convictions that involve moral turpitude from applying for marijuana licenses for seven years. However, some speakers at the Thursday subcommittee meeting pushed for a shorter period.
Also briefly discussed were changes to edibles. CCA may set edible serving sizes up to 10 milligrams of THC. The state Board of Health will review changes.
During the Thursday meeting of the subcommittee, a number of small changes were made. The lawmakers also clarified that the law enforcement cannot participate in marijuana business. The lawmakers also removed another provision which would have prohibited legislators from participating in the marijuana industry.
Surovell said to Favola that Virginia has a part-time legislative body. “Restricting the ability of our General Assembly Members to participate in any industries or whatever we do is something that I don’t believe we have ever done before.”
A second amendment, passed at the Thursday subcommittee hearing, added a clause regarding veterans’ equity criteria, which requires that they be “discharged other than dishonorably.” Another amendment, intended to reduce so-called laboratory shopping, would limit how many testing licenses can be issued.
A staffer said at the full committee meeting on Friday that there was testimony that people were concerned that if too many testing centers are available, they will search for the testing center that gives them the results they need. We left it up to the CCA, rather than deciding on a specific number.
Surovell said that social equity issues were the “majority of the discussion” within the subcommittee. However, these topics did not come up during the hearing on Friday. Rouse’s legislation would give priority to people in low-income areas and those who are over-policed, as well as veterans, hemp growers, and others.
Wise at Marijuana Justice has stated that the bill should give priority treatment to those directly affected by drug war, such as arrestees or convicts.
Other people have asked Rouse’s Bill to include specific protections for employees–protections which were included in Virginia legislators’ first attempt to legalize commercial marijuana.
A representative of the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) said that the group wants mandatory labor agreements to be required in the bill in order to protect workers in cannabis industry.
She said, “We are concerned that this bill does not provide adequate protection for workers, especially with regard to labor peace agreements.” This was in previous versions of the bill. This bill has been used successfully in this industry by other states.
Jason Blanchette told Marijuana Moment, Friday, that he felt good about the bill.
He said that Virginia already has a lot of cannabis transactions that are not licensed.
He said, “This bill does not create an adult market.” We already have a market for adult use worth $3 billion. This bill regulates only the adult market that exists.
Virginia has already made it legal for adults to use, possess, and grow cannabis in a limited way. This is the result of a proposal that was approved by legislators in 2021 . After Republicans won control of both the state House of Representatives and the governor’s office during the 2021 elections they blocked the necessary reenactment for a retail sales regulatory framework. The unlicensed market has grown in the interim.
Some cannabis advocates are hopeful, though, that , the state , could implement cannabis sales provisions in this year , following Democrats’ wins last November. This path will require building consensus between Democrats in the Virginia legislature, while passing a bill which can avoid a potential veto by Virginia Governor. Glenn Youngkin, R.–or rallying enough legislators in a state that is polarized to override a possible veto.
The process of reconciliation has now begun.
Youngkin is likely to be skeptical of the bill’s specifics, as he said earlier in the month that he has “no interest” in legalizing the sales under the Democrat led bills.
He told reporters after his State of the Commonwealth Address that he had “no interest” in pushing forward marijuana legislation.
House Majority leader Charniele Herring said that “a regulated marketplace is important for public safety.”
She said, “The Governor should be careful.” “If a bill reaches his desk and he vetoes, I don’t know what the message will be to the public regarding their safety.”
Youngkin’s lack of interest in marijuana reform shouldn’t come as a shock. The fact that he said he would not try to overturn his Democratic predecessor’s noncommercial legalization act of 2021 was welcomed by advocates.
When he first became elected, Youngkin stated that he “was not against” commercial sales. He said that certain Democratic “non starters” were provisions that set labor union requirements for marijuana business–and that he wanted address concerns from the law enforcement. But he indicated that he believed there was a measure he could support.
This expectation was tempered at the start of the year.
Last session, a cannabis sales bill did advance through the Democratic-controlled Senate, but it stalled out in committee in the House, which at the time had a GOP majority.
New poll from GOP research firm shows that a majority of U.S. likely voters support legalizing marijuana ‘in all 50 states’
The article Virginia Senate Committee advances Marijuana Sale Bill ahead of the impending deadline next month first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
