“Governor Spanberger’s veto is a profound disappointment to the many Virginia voters who believed her when she said on the campaign trail that she supported establishing a regulated adult-use cannabis market. Now, instead of finally taking marijuana out of smoke shops and placing it behind an age-verified counter, Virginia is once again being forced to tolerate another yet year of dangerous illicit market activity in every corner of the Commonwealth.”
“Once again, Governor Youngkin has prioritized his personal politics over public safety, opting to keep control of Virginia’s marijuana market squarely in the hands of unregulated operators.”
“Every year that we do not enact retail sales in Virginia for adult use marijuana is another year that the Commonwealth is choosing to continue ceding control of the marijuana market to untaxed, illicit operators.”
“Governors and lawmakers around the country are taking steps to right the past wrongs of cannabis criminalization. It’s a shame to see Louisiana’s Governor taking the state in a different direction.”
“Virginia’s firefighters, emergency services providers, and civil servants across the Commonwealth deserve the same job protections currently provided to private employees for their lawful and responsbile use of medical cannabis. This is a long overdue victory.”
“Governor Youngkin has just shown Virginians exactly how out of touch he is with the widely-accepted science and policy research on cannabis in the US. The only protection Youngkin’s veto provides is to the illicit market that has ballooned during his time office.”
“I feel exasperated that lawmakers have failed to enact this common sense policy reform,” said Delaware NORML’s Executive Director Laura Sharer. “While we the people are committed to ending prohibition in Delaware, it’s clear that our process and some of our lawmakers aren’t up to the task.”
NORML’s State Policies Manager Jax James said: “Continuing to define cannabis as contraband in Delaware is not in the public’s interest. It is vital that the legislature push back and override Gov. Carney’s veto.”