Virginia shops could start selling marijuana by next fall, under a proposal to create a regulated retail marketplace unveiled by state lawmakers Tuesday afternoon.
The Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales has worked on drafting a plan ahead of the General Assembly session scheduled to start in mid-January. While the proposal could change as it advances through the legislative process, state lawmakers said it creates a path forward for cannabis to be sold in stores.
Virginia legalized possession of marijuana for adults in 2021, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed measures aimed at creating a legal marketplace several times. But Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has vowed to sign legislation to create the retail market if it reaches her desk.
“It’s really finally establishing a safe, regulated adult-use cannabis market in Virginia,” Del. Paul Krizek, the commission’s chairman, told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli. “Our goal really was to make sure that we didn’t create any monopolies, we didn’t have a big tobacco situation, and that we really are focused on public safety and small business growth and, certainly, economic justice.”
Under the proposal, the application process for licenses would start next summer, and sales would be able to start in stores Nov. 1, 2026. The state’s Cannabis Control Authority is responsible for overseeing licensing, auditing, enforcement and public education campaigns.
Lawmakers used the legislation that passed during the last session as a framework for creating the new version. There will be 350 retail stores across the state, Krizek said, with the goal of having two or three in each district instead of “20 in one location.”
The plan would ban local governments from holding a referendum to prohibit marijuana sales.
Cannabis sales would be prohibited within 1,000 feet of hospitals, schools, day care facilities, substance use disorder treatment centers and places of worship. The proposal also changes the required minimum distance between marijuana stores from 1,000 feet to 1 mile.
In creating the latest version of the legislation, Krizek said leaders reviewed marketplaces in New York, Colorado, Maryland and California.
California allows localities to opt out of the marketplace, he said, so “60% of California, it’s illegal to sell marijuana. And so who’s filled in the gap? The illicit market has filled in the gap. You’ve got a real problem where the legal market can’t compete with the illicit market. We’re not doing that in Virginia, the whole state will be opting in, because if you don’t opt in, you’re basically opting into the illicit market.”
Sen. Lashrecse Aird, the commission’s vice chair, said the recommendations “will continue to be fluid, continue to be assessed and further worked through all the way through this process, as well as the legislative process.”
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