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MARIJUANA MOMENT
VIRGINIA GOP GOVERNOR STILL DOESN’T HAVE ‘ANY INTEREST’ IN SIGNING MARIJUANA
SALES BILL AS DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATURE APPROVES PLAN
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POLITICS
VIRGINIA GOP GOVERNOR STILL DOESN’T HAVE ‘ANY INTEREST’ IN SIGNING MARIJUANA
SALES BILL AS DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATURE APPROVES PLAN
Published
16 hours ago
on
February 29, 2024
By
Ben Adlin
A day after the Virginia legislature sent a retail marijuana sales bill to Gov.
Glenn Youngkin (R), a spokesperson in his office told Marijuana Moment that
there’s no new update on the governor’s stance on the issue, instead citing
earlier comments in which he said he doesn’t “have any interest in” signing
cannabis commerce legislation.
While some supporters hope he’ll allow the measure to become law, others have
predicted Youngkin will veto the bill.
Reached by email on Thursday, Christian Martinez, the governor’s press
secretary, was tight-lipped.
States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use
States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use
Legalizing marijuana has had a major impact in tobacco consumption. Despite what
many experts thought, a new study published in the Journal of Health Economics
concluded that state-level cannabis reforms are mostly associated with “small,
occasionally significant longer-run declines in adult tobacco use.” Veuer’s
Maria Mercedes Galuppo has the story.
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“I would refer you back to the Governor’s comments during the gaggle after the
State of the Commonwealth,” Martinez told Marijuana Moment in an email, “where
he said he doesn’t have a lot of interest in pressing forward with marijuana
legalization.”
In those comments, on January 10—before any of the recent major changes to the
now-passed legal sales proposal—Youngkin said:
“I’ve said before, this is an area that I really don’t have any interest in.
What I want us to work on are areas where we can find a meeting of the mind and
press forward to the betterment of Virginia and there are so many of them. This
is a chance for us to spend our time in places where we can transform our
behavioral health system and make sure that we have the best education in
America for our children, press forward with childcare options for Virginians,
and overhaul our foster care program. There’s so many things that we can work on
that I think we can get to the finish line and as I’ve said I just don’t have a
lot of interest in pressing forward with marijuana legislation.”
Asked for clarification on what that statement actually means in terms of
possible action on the bill that’s now before him, Martinez didn’t directly
respond. He replied that the office would provide an update “once we have one.”
“For now,” he added, “the governor will review any legislation that comes to his
desk.”
Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults is already legal
in Virginia, the result of a Democrat-led proposal approved by lawmakers in
2021. But Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor’s office
later that year, subsequently blocked the required reenactment of a regulatory
framework for retail sales. Since then, illicit stores have sprung up to meet
consumer demand.
For months, lawmakers working to pass a legal sales bill have said they’ve
received little or no response from Youngkin’s office despite efforts to reach
out and see what the governor might be open to.
In October, Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), who was then working to draft a legal sales
bill, told Marijuana Moment that the Youngkin “has been a challenge to deal with
because he hasn’t been forthcoming with his views on what he’s willing to
support.”
“I’m not sure what the governor will sign, since he’s been kind of cagey and not
really supportive in his public statements,” Ebbin said at the time.
Asked directly whether he thought Youngkin would veto a sales bill, Ebbin
replied: “Yeah, I would say there would be a substantial chance of that.”
A year ago, Youngkin seemed to leave the door open to the possibility of
licensing and regulating the commercial cannabis market, saying he was
anticipating lawmakers would lead the way.
“I have said over and over again, I think that creating a market for cannabis is
very complicated,” he said in February 2023. “There’s other states that have
struggled, and they’ve got to go do the work. And I’ve looked at them for
sending me bills.”
When he was first elected, Youngkin also said he was “not against” allowing
commercial sales categorically.
House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) warned in January that the governor
should act with caution as he weighs the cannabis bill, opining that it’s “an
important public safety matter that we have a regulated market.”
“The governor should be careful,” Herring said at the time. “A bill gets to his
desk, and he vetoes it, I’m not sure what that communication is going to be to
the public about their safety.”
Supporters of the sales bill, including sponsors in both the House and Senate,
have repeatedly said the bill would not create a cannabis market in Virginia but
instead regulate the state’s existing illicit market, which some estimates have
valued at nearly $3 billion.
The legislation sent to Youngkin this week would begin licensing marijuana
businesses later this year, with sales slated to kick off on May 1, 2025. Sales
to adults 21 and older of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana flower would be allowed,
with purchases taxed at 11.625 percent. Local governments could ban marijuana
establishments, but only with the support of local voters.
Here’s what the marijuana sales legislation sent to Gov. Youngkin would do:
* Retail sales could begin as of May 1, 2025.
* Adults would be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single
transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products as
determined by regulators.
* A state tax of 11.625 percent would apply to the retail sale of any cannabis
product. Of that, 8 percent would go to the state, local governments would
get 2.5 percent and 1.125 percent would fund schools.
* The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and
regulation of the new industry. Its board of directors would have the
authority to control possession, sale, transportation, distribution, delivery
and testing of marijuana.
* Local governments could ban marijuana establishments, but only if voters
first approve an opt-out referendum.
* Locations of retail outlets could not be within 1,000 feet of another
marijuana retailer.
* Cultivators would be regulated by space devoted to marijuana cultivation,
known as canopy size. Both indoor and outdoor marijuana cultivation would be
allowed, though only growers in lower tiers—with lower limits on canopy
size—could grow plants outside. Larger growers would need to cultivate plants
indoors. Secure greenhouses would qualify as indoor cultivation.
* Only direct, face-to-face transactions would be permitted. The legislation
would prohibit the use of other avenues, such as vending machines,
drive-through windows, internet-based sales platforms and delivery services.
* Existing medical marijuana providers that enter the adult-use market could
apply to open up to five additional retail establishments, which would need
to be colocated at their existing licensed facilities.
* Serving sizes would be capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than 100 mg
THC per package.
* No person could be granted or hold an interest in more than five total
licenses, not including transporter licenses.
* People with convictions for felonies or crimes involving moral turpitude
within the past seven years would be ineligible to apply for licensing, as
would employees of police or sheriff’s departments if they’re responsible for
enforcement of the penal, traffic or motor vehicle laws of the commonwealth.
* An equity-focused microbusiness program would grant licenses to entities at
least two-thirds owned and directly controlled by eligible applicants, which
include people with past cannabis misdemeanors, family members of people with
past convictions, military veterans, individuals who’ve lived at least three
of the past five years in a “historically economically disadvantaged
community,” people who’ve attended schools in those areas and individuals who
received a federal Pell grant or attended a college or university where at
least 30 percent of students are eligible for Pell grants.
* “Historically economically disadvantaged community” is an area that has
recorded marijuana possession offenses at or above 150 percent of the
statewide average between 2009 and 2019.
* Tax revenue from the program would first cover the costs of administering and
enforcing the state’s cannabis system. After that, 60 percent of remaining
funds would go toward supporting the state’s Cannabis Equity Reinvestment
Fund, 25 percent would fund substance use disorder treatment and prevention,
10 percent would go to pre-K programs for at-risk children and 5 percent
would fund a public health and awareness campaign.
* Adults could also share up to 2.5 ounces with other adults without financial
remuneration, though gray-market “gifting” of marijuana as part of another
transaction would be punishable as a Class 2 misdemeanor and a Class 1
misdemeanor on second and subsequent offenses.
* A number of other new criminal penalties would be created. Knowingly selling
or giving marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia to someone under 21, for
example, would be a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail
and a maximum $2,500 fine, as would knowingly selling cannabis to someone
reasonably believed to be intoxicated. It would also be a Class 1 misdemeanor
to advertise the sale of marijuana paraphernalia to people under 21.
* Knowingly obtaining marijuana on behalf of someone under 21 would be a Class
1 misdemeanor.
* People under 21 who possess or use marijuana, or attempt to obtain it, would
be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $25 and ordered to enter a
substance use disorder treatment and/or education program.
* Illegal cultivation or manufacture of marijuana, not including legal
homegrow, would be a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to five years
imprisonment and a $2,500 fine.
* People could process homegrown marijuana into products such as edibles, but
butane extraction or the use of other volatile solvents would be punishable
as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters
pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and
hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to
get access.
—
A sales bill did advance through the Democratic-controlled Senate last session,
but it stalled in committee in the House, which at the time had a GOP majority.
Meanwhile, the state legislature earlier this week passed a bill that
would protect public sector workers, such as government officials and teachers,
from being fired for medical marijuana use, sending the measure to the
governor’s desk.
Lawmakers this week also sent Youngkin a bill that would prevent the state
from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect. The change is
meant to protect parents and guardians from discrimination. On its path to the
governor’s desk, that legislation won unanimous or near-unanimous approval in
votes on the Senate floor.
Supporters are optimistic that the governor will sign that bill, noting that
backers reached out to him prior to the start of the legislative session and
incorporated his office’s feedback into the measure.
> Eight In Ten Americans Have A Marijuana Dispensary In Their County, And Shops
> ‘Cluster’ Near Borders With Illegal States, Pew Analysis Shows
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our
cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon
pledge.
Related Topics:featured
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Ben Adlin
Ben Adlin, a senior editor at Marijuana Moment, has been covering cannabis and
other drug policy issues professionally since 2011. He was previously a senior
news editor at Leafly, an associate editor at the Los Angeles Daily Journal and
a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. He lives in Washington State.
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