A cannabis retail market could be coming to Virginia as soon as next November, if the General Assembly passes the legislation and Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger signs off on it. Since 2021, Virginians have been able to legally possess marijuana for personal use but unable to legally purchase it.

The Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market rolled out the legislative proposal Tuesday afternoon, which amends legislation passed last session but was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, then and previously.

“States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescent’s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue,” Youngkin wrote in his veto explanation.

That legislation contained a provision that would have allowed localities to opt out of a retail market. But this year’s proposal gets rid of that option. It also increases the amount localities can tax from 2.5% to 3.5%.

“By allowing opting out, what we’re really doing is allowing opting in to the illicit market,” said Commission Chair Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax. “So there will not be any dry counties, like in the days of alcohol.”

That’s a problem for the conservative Christian group Family Foundation.

“I think that our opposition to legalization and commercialization is fairly well known,” said Todd Gathje, a lobbyist for the group, during the public comment period at Tuesday’s commission meeting. “I think we’re extremely discouraged by the fact that we’re not going to have some type of local referendum to allow localities to decide what’s going to be put in their localities.”

Others took issue with the introduction of a provision that would require the commission to study the possibility of involving the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC) with the enforcement of laws and regulations related to the cannabis retail market.

“We made a conscious decision, I think it was in 2021, to establish a Cannabis Control Authority to regulate cannabis and be focused on cannabis and to follow some of the best practices from pharmaceutical,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria. “I don’t know why we’re bringing back a study of the ABC being involved in it.”

A representative for Virginians for Safer Cannabis agreed, saying the organization was on solid ground with the up-and-running CCA and would oppose efforts to make ABC a regulating body.

And some people were worried about next year’s potential start state. Chelsea Higgs Wise with Marijuana Justice thanked the commission for its work but said the CCA might not be prepared for the tight turnaround.

“We will continue to say that we’re worried about the early start that November 1 might provide, and just a realistic chain of events, that CCA may not be able to hire, train and implement the staff needed,” she said.

The current proposal says that up to 50% of the available licenses would go to microbusinesses that would operate on a small scale. And the CCA would give special attention to individuals seeking licenses that met certain criteria, like having been convicted in the past of distributing marijuana or residing in a jurisdiction determined to have been disproportionately policed for marijuana crimes.

Higgs Wise worried that microbusinesses and hemp retailers seeking to convert their license to marijuana retail might not be ready in time for a Nov. 1. start date.

“Our suggestion is to … say that our November 1 start date would be a go as long as these other operators are certified and ready to go as well, because there could be a holdup that is not their own fault,” she said.

Some hemp retailers, who spoke during public comment period, expressed concern that they would be unable to procure one of the 350 available licenses for retail marijuana sale, and a legalized marijuana market would stifle their competition.

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