Three years, four sessions and one veto since the first legislative attempt, Virginia still does not have a recreational cannabis market. Potential investors say that makes it hard to plan for the future. Advocates and some politicians say the reasons the governor gave for his recent veto are only exacerbated by preventing recreational cannabis sales.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) recently vetoed House Bill 698 and Senate Bill 448, which would have created a framework for an adult-use, recreational cannabis market.
This session was not the first time the General Assembly acted to create a retail market. Lawmakers passed a bill in 2021, but the part of the bill that would create a recreational market had to also be passed the next year before it became law—which never happened. The part that did not need reenactment legalized simple possession of cannabis.
Republicans gained a House majority in 2022, along with a new governor who was uninterested in creating a cannabis market. Lawmakers skipped over the issue in 2023 and brought it back this year with a legislative Democratic majority.
Read more at marijuanamoment.net