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After moving in recent years to enact a medical marijuana program and decriminalize possession of the drug in small amounts, state lawmakers appear closer than ever to legalizing recreational marijuana.
If approved in the General Assembly session later this month, Virginia would become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana and would join 15 other U.S. states that have already done so, though it remains illegal at the federal level.
In November, Gov. Ralph Northam said he’d support legislation that prioritizes “equity, public health and public safety.” State legislators will need to consider those factors and more as they craft legislation that would not only create a new commercial cannabis market but could also rectify the racial disparity in marijuana law enforcement.
“Legalization and regulation provide oversight regarding who may legally operate in Virginia’s marijuana market and provide guidance so that those who do can engage in best practices and ensure that the market is safe and transparent,” says Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director for cannabis policy reform organization Virginia NORML and a member of Northam’s Virginia Marijuana Legalization Work Group.
Not everyone is in favor of the proposed change, however. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of anti-cannabis commercialization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, applauded the state for decriminalizing the drug but warned of an “addiction-for-profit industry that markets extremely potent marijuana products.”
In 2020, the General Assembly passed legislation to reduce the maximum punishment for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana to a $25 civil fine. The legislature also directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a study on the impacts of marijuana legalization, while Northam’s administration convened its own work group on the topic.
If approved, the commercialized marijuana industry could produce $31 million to $62 million in tax revenues during its first year of sales, according to JLARC’s study, reaching $154 million to $308 million by its fifth year and creating up to 18,000 jobs — though most would be low-paying. The governor’s report estimates the industry could be worth $698 million to $1.2 billion annually, with up to $274 million in tax revenues per year.
Both studies suggest the commercial marijuana industry would take at least two years to materialize, arguing that the state would need to establish a regulatory agency, draft regulations and issue licenses, among other steps.
Both studies also uncovered a history of racial disparity in marijuana enforcement: JLARC found that between 2010 and 2019, Black Virginians were arrested for marijuana possession at 3.5 times the rate of white Virginians and were convicted at 3.9 times the rate of their white counterparts, although both groups use the drug at similar rates.
“We wanted to make sure that legalization ... is redressing that inequity and that we are making sure we’re reinvesting in those communities that are the most impacted by marijuana prohibition and making sure that we were providing public safety protections to protect minors,” says state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who sponsored legislation to commission the JLARC study.
The study suggests social equity programs to make the marijuana industry more accessible to Black business owners, after finding that most commercial marijuana industries in other states are dominated by white owners. McClellan says the expungement of past marijuana-related convictions should also be a key consideration. A one-time expungement could benefit around 120,000 Virginians, including 63,000 Black Virginians, according to JLARC.
“Just legalizing it in and of itself is not going to be a magic wand to address the inequity,” says McClellan, who is running for governor this year. “That’s a very broad component that would include expungement [and] reinvesting in the communities that have been impacted by heavy and disproportionate arrests.”
Other JLARC recommendations include:
- Setting the minimum legal age to purchase and use marijuana at 21 years old;
- Restricting legal possession to 1 ounce of marijuana flower, 5 grams of marijuana concentrate and marijuana-infused products containing up to 500 milligrams of THC;
- Banning marijuana use in public spaces and establishing a fine as penalty;
- Prohibiting marijuana use or the presence of open marijuana containers in vehicles; and
- Barring marijuana home delivery for at least three to five years after commercial sales begin.
