The Cannabist Company operates medical marijuana dispensaries such as this one in Carytown. (Photo courtesy The Cannabist Company)
While efforts to build a retail marijuana market in Virginia fizzled this year, its medical market is rolling along.
In June, The Cannabist Company opened its 11th medical dispensary in the state at 4320 S. Laburnum Ave., joining another metro Richmond location in Carytown. It also owns gLeaf, which has stores in Colonial Heights, Short Pump and South Richmond, and operates nearly 148,000 square feet of cultivation and manufacturing facilities in Virginia.
“The one thing that we did, as a company that takes its medical mission super seriously, is to continue to engage in the medical cannabis program,” says Adam Goers, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Cannabist. “Virginia has one of the better programs in the country as far as who can access it. ... Thousands of Virginians every day, under the supervision and direction and recommendation of their doctor, are using medical cannabis products produced by state-licensed pharmaceutical processors in the state to treat medical or health and wellness conditions.”
The state’s Cannabis Control Authority says nearly 80,000 patients visited medical marijuana dispensaries in Virginia during the first half of 2024. In an email, CCA states that it cannot currently track medical cannabis sales data but is “in the process of acquiring a comprehensive seed-to-sale program, which will enable us to monitor and report on sales in the future.” The CCA took over regulatory duties for the medical cannabis program from the state Board of Pharmacy on Jan. 1.
Attempts to continue building a framework for a legal retail marijuana market passed the General Assembly this year but were vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. In rejecting the legislation, Youngkin wrote that “attempting to rectify the error of decriminalizing marijuana by establishing a safe and regulated marketplace is an unachievable goal,” adding that the impact on children has been “the most concerning consequence of cannabis commercialization.”
Virginia Commonwealth University forensic science professor Michelle Peace argues, however, that research has found a large gap between the quality and safety of the products produced for the regulated medical marketplace and the unregulated retail environment.
“Having a medical marijuana marketplace, frankly, hasn’t protected children and other consumers from the dangers that do exist in the unregulated marketplace,” Peace says. “So the medical marijuana marketplace, I think you have to look at it through a more positive lens. ... Virginia has created a pathway for those patients to get this compound that has strong scientific data demonstrating it helps people with certain conditions. At the end of the day, we have this unregulated marketplace that is burgeoning and is quite successful because there is a demand for adult-use cannabis.”
Youngkin did sign a few bills related to medical use, including one carried by Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, that allows cannabis products to be sold up to a year after stability testing, up from six months. In addition, employers now cannot discriminate against employees for legally using medical cannabis oil.
“We know what the public wants, and we know the right way to do it,” Goers says. “And while we are back at work every day, serving patients, the state and the governor and the legislature should heed the call of the citizenry and pass legalization. It’s overdue, and I’m hopeful that in some time, in the years to come, that they will.”
