Virginia Lawmakers Advance 2 Marijuana Bills in Split Legislature!

Two measures were recently introduced in the Virginia legislature that would legalize marijuana for adult use in the state by 2024 and provide tax breaks to licensed businesses that are now illegal under federal law.

Legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use in Virginia has an uphill battle in the state’s polarised legislature, which is led by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who is lukewarm on the issue.

When asked if he would sign a bill to establish a legal framework for the sale of recreational marijuana in Virginia, Youngkin told Richmond television station WRIC that he is more interested in legislation dealing “with hemp and delta-8 and the regulations and consumer safety around those products.”

Although taxation and social equality provisions could jeopardize a consensus, one draught would enable medical marijuana dispensaries to sell adult-use products beginning January 1, 2024.

The other bill would legalize tax write-offs for cannabis businesses, which are now illegal under U.S. Code Section 280E.

According to Marijuana Moment, several other states, including New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, are working to do the same thing, which would effectively untie state operators from the federal tax code.

Since then-Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation in April 2021 establishing the potential $1.4 billion adult-use market, efforts to launch recreational sales in Virginia have languished for nearly two years.

Because of the legislative stalemate, medical marijuana businesses in Virginia have expanded while waiting for approval to begin selling to adults.