Virginia Senators Should Remove New Marijuana Penalties From Bill To Legalize Sales, Advocacy Groups Say

A coalition of 37 cannabis and civil rights organization is urging Virginia
senators to reverse course on amendments made to a bill to legalize
recreational marijuana sales that they say undermine the “intent” of the
legislation and the “will of the people” by adding new criminal penalties
for cannabis-related activity.

In a letter led by Marijuana Justice, the groups told members of the Senate
Finance Committee that they should roll back the amendments that were
incorporated at the behest of a different panel’s chairman last week over
the objections of the bill sponsor, Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D).

“The measure should focus on responsible regulations, not further
criminalization,” the letter says.

Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC), Drug Policy Alliance (DPA),
Last Prisoner Project (LPP), Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA),
Parabola Center for Law and Policy, United Food and Commercial Workers
Union Local 400 and Virginia Cannabis Association were among the other
signatories on the letter.

Senate Courts of Justice Committee Chairman Scott Surovell’s (D) amendments
“are an attempt to unravel Virginia’s commitment to undoing the harms of
the War on Drugs, despite clear finding from the Joint Legislative Audit &
Review Commission that Black Virginians were disproportionately harmed by
marijuana enforcement,” the groups wrote.

The amendments at issue include those that increase penalties for consumers
who buy from unlicensed sources, recriminalize cannabis possession by
people under 21 and make unlawful sales a class 1 misdemeanor for a first
offense and a crime punishable by mandatory jail time for a second offense.

As amended, the bill would also raise the penalty for unlicensed
cultivation to a felony punishable by up to five years in jail and make it
a felony to transport with intent to distribute cannabis across state lines.

The bill sponsor “explicitly identified these amendments as unfriendly and
inconsistent with the purpose and intent of SB 542,” the letter continues.
“Several members of the committee, both Republican and Democrat, also
identified the amendments as problematic, confusing, and in direct conflict
with the intent of legalization. Cannabis should not be treated the same as
alcohol, including penalties.”

“We are demanding the members of the Senate Finance Committee remove these
amendments in their entirety and prioritize legalizing it right. By
signing this letter, organizations are not endorsing the retail bill but
opposing Senator Surovell’s harmful amendments which will undoubtedly
inflict disproportionate harm on Black people, people of color, and low
income earners while further criminalizing our communities.”

JM Pedini, development director for the advocacy group NORML and executive
director for Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment last week 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.

NORML is not a signatory on the new letter.

The advancement 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.

Another cannabis bill approved by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee
last week 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.


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policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
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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.

*Read the full letter on the Virginia marijuana bill amendments below:*

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To Legalize Sales, Advocacy Groups Say appeared first on Marijuana Moment.