Virginia Senate Committee Approves Bill to Create Adult-Use Cannabis Marketplace 

A bill seeking to implement an adult-use cannabis retail program in
Virginia last week cleared the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services
Committee, in an 8-to-7 party-line vote, WDBJ reports. The proposal (SB.542) is
one of two proposals being considered for lawmakers to enact the
marketplace regulations after the committee voted to consolidate another
bill that included similar provisions introduced in the chamber.

The start date of the proposal was changed from November 1, 2026, to
January 1, 2027.

The legislation was referred to the Senate Courts and Justice Committee.

Meanwhile, the House bill that aims to create a cannabis marketplace in the
state remains in the chamber’s General Laws Committee.

The effort to enact the regulations to create an adult-use cannabis
marketplace come some five years after state lawmakers
passed cannabis reforms, but attempts to create a regulated marketplace
were vetoed by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Newly-elected Gov. Abigail
Spanberger (D) promised during the campaign that she would allow adult-use
cannabis sales to proceed and said in an interview that she would work with
lawmakers “to find a path forward to creating a legalized retail market for
cannabis that both prioritizes public safety and grows Virginia’s economy.”