Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced a deal Tuesday to allow retail marijuana sales across the Commonwealth starting next summer, a step some advocates say will help the illicit market begin to dissipate.
During a news conference, Spanberger, Del. Paul Krizek and Sen. Lashrecse Aird called their agreement a compromise. Retail sales would begin July 1, 2027, and there’d be 350 retail licenses available across the state, though they all wouldn’t be rolled out at once.
The fate of the plan is dependent on the state’s ongoing budget process, but Aird expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached before the start of the new fiscal year next month. The plan comes after former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the idea twice, and Spanberger did the same after the General Assembly rejected her proposed amendments.
Rodney Holcombe, vice president of public policy and communications at the marijuana wholesale platform LeafLink, said the longer the wait to establish a retail market, “the more entrenched the illicit market gets.”
“We can advance efforts to go after and shut down illicit operations and illicit stores, but I mean, to some degree, it’s a game of whack-a-mole,” Holcombe said. “You, of course, need to provide an alternative to consumers, and that alternative is the regulated market. Let’s give consumers an opportunity to purchase legal, tested, age-gated products.”
The agreement detailed Tuesday calls for a 6% state tax on marijuana products, increasing to 8% in 2029. Local jurisdictions will also have the ability to introduce an additional tax of 1-3.5%. Still, Holcombe said the total tax rate for Virginia’s plan is about 14.8%, “and what we see in some jurisdictions is that they go much further than that 14.8%, so much so that it deters legal market purchases.”
Initially, Spanberger had proposed making the penalty for public consumption a Class 4 misdemeanor. Under the updated plan, though, it would be a $250 civil fine starting next year, up from the current $25 civil fine.
Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of the group Marijuana Justice, said it’s the result of conversations comparing cannabis to alcohol.
“There are racial disparities where Black and low-income people, unhoused people, renters feel this fine the most, and when people are not able to pay their fines and fees, what happens with those collateral consequences?” Wise said. “We do see a space for there to be shifting, but we’re still really concerned that this is a conversation we’re having to revisit again.”
Wise said the compromise is “something that we can support,” touting the removal of many of the criminal penalties from the plan and redistribution into Cannabis Equity Reinvestment fund, a program that invests money in communities harmed by previous marijuana enforcement.
In a statement, JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws, said, “This compromise represents a meaningful step toward bringing Virginia’s cannabis laws in line with public opinion and moving the Commonwealth closer to a marketplace that consumers have long demanded.”
In a news release, Spanberger said revenue from marijuana sales will be used for K-12 education, early childcare and education and behavioral health and public health programs.
Maryland, according to the State Comptroller’s Office, brought in about $26 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales from January to March. There’s a 12% state tax on those sales in Maryland.
Meanwhile, in a statement, JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws, said, “This compromise represents a meaningful step toward bringing Virginia’s cannabis laws in line with public opinion and moving the Commonwealth closer to a marketplace that consumers have long demanded.”