Virginia lawmakers have approved a bill to legalize marijuana sales, as well as separate legislation to provide a pathway for resentencing of past cannabis convictions.
On Wednesday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed the marijuana sales legislation from Del. Paul Krizek (D) in a 16-6 vote. This comes about a week after a similar measure advanced through a Senate panel.
The Transportation and Public Safety Subcommittee had advanced the legislation with an amendment earlier in the day by a 5-2 vote.
Krizek’s bill, HB 642, largely aligns with recommendations released last month 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.
Under the measure as approved, adult-use cannabis sales could begin on November 1. That’s shorter timeline compared to the Senate companion, which calls for sales to start on January 1, 2027.
The subcommittee on Wednesday adopted a substitute version of the bill that changes several key details,
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