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Cannabis Connection
Virginia was on track to become the next big thing, the 16th state to legalize adult-use marijuana, and only the third to do so through an act of the legislature. And they did, in a way. In a last-minute agreement, Virginia lawmakers voted to legalize adult-use marijuana, but the law will not go into effect until 2024.
Historically, as could be expected from a state belonging to the Old South, all of which has been hostile to cannabis reform so far, Virginia was not pot-friendly. That changed in 2020, when Democrats took control of both houses of the state’s legislative branch. In quick succession, lawmakers decriminalized marijuana possession, bringing the maximum punishment for it to a $25 fine, and the state’s first medical dispensary opened. Even more: The state legislature passed a resolution to study a path towards full legalization and giving Virginia until 2022 to enact cannabis reform.
The success of legalization in the Democratic-controlled Virginia seemed inevitable, and it was—but it did not go as smoothly as expected. Legalization was one of the priorities of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, and it falls within the purview of promises made by the Democratic Party, which controls the legislature.
Different Paths to Legalization
Earlier this year, the Virginia House and Senate each independently passed bills to legalize, but the bills were different and required a conference committee to reconcile them. The amended bill was ultimately agreed on by both houses on Saturday, Feb. 27, two weeks after the legislative session should have ended, as a special session was convened to tackle this issue. The bill passed with a very short majority. In fact, in the final version approved by lawmakers, not a single Republican voted in favor of it; legalization was a Democratic accomplishment through and through.
The final result is underwhelming, however. The main drawback is the timeline that is being presented: As it stands, simple possession of marijuana would only become legal when retail sales start, in January 2024. According to the Associated Press, “The Senate had sought to legalize simple possession this year to immediately end punishments for people with small amounts of marijuana, but House Democrats argued that legalization without a legal market for marijuana could promote the growth of the black market.”
A Senate-pushed provision requires another vote from the General Assembly next year regarding the regulatory framework surrounding legal weed, but a second vote will not be necessary to confirm legalization itself. A lot of details are still fuzzy, and there is wriggle room to expand the measures agreed on by the legislature.
Racial justice is one of the key issues that this bill will touch on—for instance through the establishment of a Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund that will redirect 30% of marijuana tax revenue towards communities most victimized by the War on Drugs. The next year—and, if Virginia Democrats fail to speed up the timeline of legalization, the next two years after that—will be a battleground to fiddle with the bill and ensure an equitable rollout, in particular for underserved communities.
