A plan to create a legal marijuana market is sitting on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger鈥檚 desk, ending a yearslong saga to end what lawmakers have described as an existing black market for cannabis in the state.
Despite numerous changes made during the final moments of the 2026 General Assembly session, through the House of Delegates and Senate.
Spanberger is expected to sign the measure. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the idea.
While Virginia state lawmakers have previously allowed adults to legally have up to an ounce of marijuana and created a path to grow up to four plants inside homes, there hasn鈥檛 been a pathway to a legal marketplace.
The plan would allow the retail market to start operating Jan. 1, 2027, giving oversight responsibilities to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. Anyone 21 and older would be able to buy marijuana, and there would be 350 retail stores statewide.
Customers will have to show their IDs to get inside and when they buy something, Del. Paul Krizek said. The plan includes a 6% statewide tax on cannabis, and local jurisdictions would be able to include an extra tax, between 1% and 3.5%.
鈥淭he status quo right now is broken,鈥� Krizek told WTOP. 鈥淲e legalized cannabis five years ago, but sales remain unregulated. There’s no testing. It lacks testing, it lacks safety standards, there’s no oversight.鈥�
If Spanberger signs the legislation, Krizek said legal marijuana products will have clear labeling, secure packages and procedures in place to ensure it stays out of the hands of minors.
The current medical marijuana pharmacies will be eligible to become adult use businesses too, he said.
The measure doesn鈥檛 enable localities to be able to opt out of hosting retail stores. Previous attempts to create a retail market during the Youngkin administration included the ability for jurisdictions to hold a referendum to opt out of participating in the marketplace, a step Krizek said was intended to encourage Youngkin to sign the measure.
Is January enough time?
鈥淲e’re thrilled to see this happen for Virginia,鈥� said Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of 鈥淚t offers a safer, regulated market for cannabis consumers, as well as a sustainable industry for small businesses to hopefully enter in a way that can also create more economic drive for the Commonwealth.鈥�
However, Wise said there鈥檚 concern about the possible Jan. 1 start date, because the plant takes about six months to grow and that 鈥渞eally is going to put somebody鈥檚 Virginia businesses a year or two years out.鈥�
Krizek said the January data is a 鈥渕agic date,鈥� but he anticipates it may take two or more years to have a 鈥渕ature market.鈥�
Spanberger, Krizek said, may consider 鈥渆ven pushing back the date a few months just to give the Cannabis Control Authority a little bit more time to get established, and also giving the small businesses a little bit more time to grow their product and to get established themselves.鈥�
A Spanberger spokesperson told WTOP the governor is currently reviewing all legislation on her desk. In media interviews, she鈥檚 previously indicated support for a legal cannabis retail market in Virginia.
Some studies have found a legal marketplace could produce about $100 million annually, Krizek said.
Rodney Holcombe, vice president of public policy and communications at LeafLink, said the shift in policy could mean 鈥渁 lot of folks who maybe did not have a chance to have a business before will be able to have a legal business, or you have operators who have wanted to long enter the cannabis space, they now have this opportunity.鈥�
A successful marijuana retail sales framework, Krizek said, would ensure the black market is eradicated and the anti-monopoly provisions in the legislation are effective.
鈥淚t’s a long process,鈥� Krizek said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 nice that we鈥檙e to the end. This will be good for Virginia. Virginia will be the first state in the South with a legal market.鈥�
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