If a bill in the General Assembly succeeds, Virginians might start purchasing recreational marijuana over the counter in 2024, but the future of retail sales is uncertain in a government that is divided along party lines. An updated bill that would permit medicinal cannabis providers to start selling recreational marijuana to adult clients beginning January 1, 2024, was advanced by the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee on Friday morning.
Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Fairfax), the bill’s sponsor, however, stated that before stores could be opened in January 2024, applicants from historically economically disadvantaged communities would also have to pay a fee and sign five franchise agreements with those medical providers. In the law, the word refers to places where the majority of the population is a person of color or where the poverty rate is higher than the state average.
“In Virginia, it is legal to possess marijuana, therefore we want individuals to have a way to purchase a regulated, safe product. “It ought to be taxed if it’s going to be sold,” Ebbin added. Other candidates, according to Ebbin, would need to wait until July 1, 2024, to reach the retail sector. Although he believes Ebbin’s amendments are a step in the right direction, Senator Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William) is concerned that this method is unjust.
According to Senator Jeremy McPike, “I still have a little bit of the same worry about creating market domination very early in the process that will disadvantage others as they try to start up later in the market.” For House Republicans, who have previously opposed attempts to move forward with a regulated market, the issue of giving particular groups an advantage in a developing business also appears to be a major sticking point.
However, a lot of that depends on how Senate Democrats handle the idea of social equity, a priority for the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. Several Republican lawmakers have privately acknowledged that a bill to legalize recreational marijuana sales has the potential to get double-digit support in their caucus if the legislation reaches the House floor.
In a press conference on the first day of the 2023 session, Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) said, “We need to legalize marijuana in the right way, in a socially responsible way, and in a way that ensures that the communities and people who are disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs have a meaningful opportunity to benefit from a legalized market.”
According to Delegate Glenn Davis, “I can’t support the section in the plan that provides persons who were convicted of marijuana offenses in the past first access to all the licenses” (R-Virginia Beach). Because they haven’t broken any laws, law-abiding folks are forced to wait in line behind criminals.
These clauses, which the measure previously had but was not included this year, according to Ebbin, were eliminated in an effort to secure bipartisan support. In order to traverse a legal landscape at the federal level that appears to be becoming more unfriendly towards race-based criteria, he claimed that they’ve also had to adapt their approach to equity.
According to Ebbin, “Social equality programs characterized similarly to earlier language in our law are either embroiled in litigation or have been ruled down by courts.” In a recent interview, Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert stated that the caucus is waiting for direction from Governor Glenn Youngkin before making a statement about the matter. Earlier this week, when asked if he would support compromise legislation, Youngkin changed his mind.
At a Monday event, Youngkin stated, “The measure I am tracking and seeking for is a law that deals with hemp and Delta-8 and the rules and consumer safety around those items. Products that are being mislabeled, missold, and marketed to minors are available. I am keeping an eye on that legislation to see that it gets passed because it is the legislation I want to sign.
A Senate panel on Friday also approved the bill Youngkin is referring to, which aims to tighten regulations and enforcement for a few hemp-derived products. However, Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) objected, claiming that dangerous goods were mushrooming to fill the void left by the absence of regulated marijuana sales.
His attempt to change the hemp measure so that it could only go into effect in conjunction with legislation enabling retail marijuana sales was rejected by lawmakers from both parties. As long as we keep tackling this piecemeal, Surovell added, “I worry that we’ll just keep playing whack-a-mole and dealing with new issues.”
