Virginia Senators Approve Bills To Legalize Marijuana Sales And Provide Resentencing Relief To People With Prior Convictions

Virginia senators have approved a pair of bills to legalize recreational
marijuana sales and provide sentencing relief for people with prior
cannabis convictions.

The Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the
marijuana sales legislation from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) in a 9-6 vote.
Members also voted 12-TK3to approve the cannabis resentencing measure from
Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D).

Both measures next head to the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee
before potentially reaching the floor.

Aird told colleagues at Wednesday’s hearing that her bill “establishes a
market that, once and for all, will protect consumers and prioritize health
and safety, while ensuring balance to our regulatory structure that ensures
legalization is aligned with public health and safety goals and avoids past
mistakes embedded in alcohol laws that allow the legal substance to remain
a pipeline to criminalization.”

“I know there is an interest in strictly aligning the approach that we take
in this legislation to [the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s]
enforcement structure, but in doing that too closely we do risk building a
legal system that still relies on arrests, mandatory fines, mandatory
minimums, jail time and felonies for low level conduct,” she said. “And
that approach has failed for alcohol and will fail again for cannabis.”

The panel adopted several amendments from Sen. Scott Surovell (D), the
chair of the panel—over Aird’s objection.

Among the changes are amendments to “basically align the penalties for the
illegal sale of alcohol with the illegal sale of marijuana,” Surovell said,
in addition to one to equate penalties for underage possession of cannabis
with those for alcohol.

Another approved amendment from the chair adds criminal penalties for
buying marijuana from an unlicensed seller.

Chelsea Higgs Wise of Marijuana Justice testified in support of the overall
bill but expressed concerns about the newly adopted criminal amendments,
calling them “a step back.”

A representative of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP similarly
said that “if we really want to set our children up for success, we would
not be criminalizing them, and rather what we’ll do is figure out how do we
support them so that they will make better choices.”

JM Pedini, development director for the advocacy group NORML and executive
director for Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment that the organization is
“deeply concerned by committee members’ efforts to recriminalize cannabis
consumers and adopt marijuana mandatory minimums.”

“It’s particularly unsettling that as this body is moving to address
resentencing for marijuana-related convictions, it is simultaneously
entertaining new ways to further criminalize consumers,” Pedini said.

The passage of the commercial sales bill as amended comes about a week
after the House General Laws Committee approved a companion version of the
legislation, sponsored by Del. Paul Krizek (D).

As approved in committee, the legislation largely aligns with
recommendations released in December by the legislature’s Joint Commission
to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market.

Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia
lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to
have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin
(R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by
the legislature.

The Senate version calls for sales to start on January 1, 2027, while the
House bill stipulates that adult-use cannabis sales could begin on November
1 of this year.

*Here are the key details of the Virginia marijuana
sales legalization legislation:*

- 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.
- 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.
- A tax of up to 12.625 percent would apply to the retail sale of any
cannabis product. That would include a state retail and use tax of 1.125
percent on top of a new marijuana-specific tax of 8 percent. Local
governments could levy an additional 3.5 percent.
- Tax revenue would be split between the costs of administering and
enforcing the state’s marijuana system, a new Cannabis Equity Reinvestment
Fund, pre-kindergarten programs, substance use disorder prevention and
treatment programs and public health programs such as awareness campaigns
designed to prevent drug-impaired driving and discourage underage
consumption.
- Local governments could not opt out of allowing marijuana businesses
to operate in their area.
- Delivery services would be allowed.
- Serving sizes would be capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than
100 mg THC per package.
- Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market
if they pay a $10 million licensing conversion fee.
- Cannabis businesses would have to establish labor peace agreements
with workers.
- A legislative commission would be directed to study adding on-site
consumption licenses and microbusiness cannabis event permits that would
allow licensees to conduct sales at venues like farmers markets or pop-up
locations. It would also investigate the possibility of the Virginia
Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority becoming involved in marijuana
regulations and enforcement.

Newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) supports legalizing adult-use
marijuana sales.

The other cannabis bill approved by the Senate committee on Wednesday would
mandate that individuals with certain offenses automatically receive
resentencing hearings and have their punishments adjusted. A House
companion version from Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. (D) also advanced recently.

The legislation would create a process by which people who are incarcerated
or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the
possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive
an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences.

The bill applies to people whose convictions or adjudications are for
conduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2021, when a state law legalizing
personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect.

The panel adopted a series of technical changes to the legislation prior to
approving it.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of 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. —*

Meanwhile, Virginia lawmakers have filed other marijuana-related
legislation for the 2026 session, including a proposals to let terminally
ill patients use medical marijuana in hospitals.

Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently
published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers.

*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

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Provide Resentencing Relief To People With Prior Convictions appeared first
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