Virginia Lawmakers Pass Bills To Legalize Marijuana Sales, Resentence Past Convictions And Allow Medical Cannabis In Hospitals – Marijuana Moment
Virginia Lawmakers Pass Bills To Legalize Marijuana Sales, Resentence Past Convictions And Allow Medical Cannabis In Hospitals
Massachusetts Hits $9 Billion Recreational Marijuana Sales Milestone With Surge In Purchases Ahead Of Big Snowstorm
Maryland Lawmakers Approve Bill To Extend Psychedelics Task Force Through 2027
Former White House Drug Czar Says Trump Is Wrong To Reschedule Marijuana, Calling It A ‘Gateway Drug’ That’s ‘Massively Destructive’
Oklahoma House And Senate GOP Leaders Dismiss Governor’s Push To Repeal Medical Marijuana At The Ballot
AI Models Like ChatGPT Can Generate ‘Convincingly Realistic’ Psychedelic Experiences When Virtually Dosed, Study Shows
Cannabis-Infused Drinks Offer Consumers A ‘Harm Reduction’ Alternative To Alcohol, Study Shows
Marijuana Use Isn’t A ‘Red Flag’ In The Dating Scene, Three In Four Americans Say In New Survey
10 Million US Adults Microdosed Psychedelics Last Year, New Report Shows
Marijuana’s Restrictive Federal Classification Isn’t Supported By Science, New Study Concludes
DEA Promotes Anti-Marijuana PSA Contest Inviting Students To Warn Peers About THC Dangers On 4/20
Largest Entertainment Arena In US Partners With Cannabis Businesses To Sell THC Drinks At Concerts And Live Events
Woody Harrelson Got Kicked Out Of Two Bars For Smoking Marijuana With Matthew McConaughey’s Mom
State Marijuana Regulators Share Tips On How To Stay Safe And Legal Around The Holidays
One In Three Americans ‘Pre-Game’ With Marijuana Before Family Holiday Gatherings, Survey Finds
Montana Retailers Have Sold More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Recreational Marijuana Since Legalization Took Effect
Pre-Rolls Are A Key Driver Of The Cannabis Retail Market’s Success (Op-Ed)
Massachusetts Hits $10 Billion Marijuana Sales Milestone, With Top Official Saying Consumption Lounges Will Bolster Industry In 2026
Ohio Dispensaries Sold More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Legal Marijuana In 2025
Marijuana Consumers Are More Likely To Shop At Target Following Decision To Sell Cannabis-Infused Drinks, Poll Shows
GOP congressman celebrates cannabis’s ongoing Schedule I status (Newsletter: February 17, 2026)
Feds finalize Medicare CBD coverage rule, hemp industry operative says (Newsletter: February 16, 2026)
FDA head discusses cannabis benefits & concerns (Newsletter: February 13, 2026)
Cannabis businesses’ lawsuit against feds is dismissed (Newsletter: February 12, 2026)
Cannabis not a “priority” for Trump DOJ, GOP congressman says (Newsletter: February 11, 2026)
Published
on
By
Virginia’s legislature took action on a series of marijuana bills on a key deadline Tuesday—advancing proposals to legalize cannabis sales, provide a pathway to resentencing for prior marijuana convictions and allow medical cannabis access in hospitals for seriously ill patients.
On Tuesday’s crossover deadline to move bills from one chamber to the other, the House of Delegates and Senate passed differing versions of marijuana sales legislation that will now be sent to the other body for consideration. The House approved its measure from Del. Paul Krizek (D) in a 65-32 vote, and the Senate moved its proposal from Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) in a vote of 21-19.
Krizek said ahead of the vote that his bill is “about fixing a status quo that it’s not working.”
“In fact, it’s a mess right now. Adult possession of cannabis is legal, but sales are unregulated, and that means no testing, no standards and no oversight whatsoever,” he said. “This bill will replace that gray market—it’s a $5 billion illegal market out there—with a regulated system that protects public health with testing, labeling, packaging and strong enforcement and penalties, and keeps products away from minors.”
Aird, for her part, quipped on the Senate floor on Tuesday that she sought to “clear up the smoke” around her legislation by explaining its provisions.
The Senate had already advanced a cannabis resentencing measure, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas (D), on third reading on Monday. And on Tuesday, the House companion from Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. (D) received final approval in that chamber, with members voting 63-34 to cross it over.
While both House and Senate marijuana sales measures are aimed at giving adults a legal means of buying cannabis, the possession and home cultivation of which was legalized in the state in 2021, there are several substantive differences that will need to be resolved before the reform potentially goes to the governor’s desk.
Those differences between the chambers’s versions include the start date for legal sales, cannabis tax rates and conversion fees for current medical marijuana businesses to participate in the recreational market and the form of the regulatory body that will oversee the industry, among other issues.
With respect to the Senate bill, members recently clashed in committee about amendments to the body’s version that would have added new penalties for illegal cannabis activity.
The amendments at issue from the Courts of Justice Committee included penalties for consumers who buy from unlicensed sources, the recriminalization of cannabis possession by people under 21 and making sales a class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense and a crime punishable by mandatory jail time for a second offense. As revised, the bill would have also raised the penalty for unlicensed cultivation to a felony punishable by up to five years in jail and made it a felony to transport with intent to distribute cannabis across state lines.
But the Finance and Appropriations Committee reversed the amendments last week amid pressure from a coalition of advocacy groups that sent a letter to senators saying they undermined the “intent” of the legislation and the “will of the people” by adding criminal penalties for certain cannabis-related activity.
Despite some key differences, both chambers’ commercial sales bills largely align 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.
Here are the key details of the Virginia marijuana sales legalization legislation, SB 542 and HB 642:
“Now that we’ve passed the critical midway point, lawmakers can get the bills into conference and negotiate an answer to the question that Virginians are asking: ‘After five long years of waiting, when can sales finally begin?’” JM Pedini, development director for the advocacy group NORML and executive director for Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday.
Newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) supports legalizing adult-use marijuana sales.
Meanwhile, House and Senate lawmakers also advanced separate legislation to provide resentencing relief for people with prior marijuana convictions.
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 measure 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.
Also on Tuesday, the House passed on third reading a bill to enact what’s known as “Ryan’s law,” a policy change providing that patients with terminal illnesses who are registered cannabis patients can access medical marijuana at health facilities such as hospitals. The chamber approved that legislation, HB 75 from Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (D), in a 95-1 vote.
It would require healthcare facilities to establish policies “to address circumstances under which an eligible patient would be permitted to use medical cannabis.”
Under the House legislation, healthcare facilities could suspend medical cannabis allowances if a federal agency such as the Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes enforcement action on the issue or issues a rule or notification expressly prohibiting use of medical cannabis in health facilities.
The Senate passed differing legislation concerning the use of medical cannabis in health care facilities earlier this month.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
Meanwhile, the Virginia House last week approved a bill to protect the rights of parents who use marijuana in compliance with state law.
Under the proposal from Del. Nadarius Clark (D), possession of use of cannabis by a parent or guardian on its own “shall not serve as a basis to deem a child abused or neglected unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption causes or creates a risk of physical or mental injury to the child.”
“A person’s legal possession or consumption of substances authorized under [the state’s marijuana law] alone shall not serve as a basis to restrict custody or visitation unless other facts establish that such possession or consumption is not in the best interest of the child,” the text of the bill, HB 942, states.
Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers.
Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment’s Sacramento-based managing editor. He’s covered drug policy for more than a decade—specializing in state and federal marijuana and psychedelics issues at publications that also include High Times, VICE and attn. In 2022, Jaeger was named Benzinga’s Cannabis Policy Reporter of the Year.
Add Marijuana Moment as a preferred source on Google.
All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. Copyright © 2017-2026 Marijuana Moment LLC ® and Tom Angell