Richmond, VA: Lawmakers rejected amendments proposed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger that sought to significantly alter rules surrounding the proposed sale and enforcement of marijuana.
The Governor’s amendments to SB 542 | HB 642 repeal multiple provisions of the state’s decriminalization and legalization laws, reinstitute steep criminal penalties for public consumption, and automatically revoke the driver’s licenses of young people who possess marijuana, among other changes. The governor also sought to further delay the start date for retail cannabis sales from January 1, 2027, to July 1, 2027.
NORML strongly opposed the amendments. “The Governor’s substitute bill reverses years of progress in Virginia,” said JM Pedini, NORML’s Development Director and the Executive Director of Virginia NORML. “Passage of these amendments would have resulted in a return to racially discriminatory marijuana policing across Virginia, while also compromising public safety by continuing to drive consumers to the unregulated market for at least another year.”
The Governor has 30 days to either accept lawmakers’ version of the bill or to veto it.
Virginia enacted legislation in 2021 legalizing the use, possession, and personal cultivation of marijuana by adults. That legislation called upon lawmakers to approve retail sales in a subsequent 2022 vote. However, when Republicans gained control of the House and the governorship in 2022, they failed to advance legislation to do so.
After Democrats regained the House, their 2024 and 2025 legislative efforts to regulate retail sales were vetoed by former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Lawmakers also rejected amendments proposed by the Governor to legislation (SB 62 | HB 26) providing sentencing relief to those convicted of eligible marijuana-related felony offenses. Specifically, the Governor’s office opposed language in lawmakers’ initial version of the bill, making the resentencing process automatic and imposing specific deadlines upon the courts.
An action alert urging Governor Spanberger not to veto the legislation is available in NORML’s Take Action Center. Additional information is available from Virginia NORML.