For the third year in a row, Virginia’s Governor has vetoed a bill that would have established a legal and regulated market to buy and sell marijuana in Virginia. After two years of vetoes from Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, cannabis proponents had hoped that Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger would be different. But after the General Assembly rejected her proposed revisions, Spanberger vetoed the bill. While Spanberger says she wants legal sales, she also wants tighter regulations including “clear enforcement authority and inspections and robust tools to crack down on bad actors who continue to profit from the illicit market.” Virginia’s decriminalization of marijuana coupled with the inability to establish a legal marketplace has created a large black market for marijuana products. While the General Assembly’s regular session has ended, the budget session is ongoing. Since tax revenue from legal marijuana sales would impact the budget, it is possible that this issue reappears during budget negotiations. If not, then Virginians will have to wait to see if next year’s General Assembly can pass a cannabis bill that the Governor is willing to sign.
Virginia Cannabis Regulation: Current Legal Landscape and Continued Uncertainty
Since July 1, 2021, pursuant to the Virginia Cannabis Control Act (originally enacted as HB 2312 and SB 1406 in 2021), adults aged 21 and older have been permitted to possess up to one ounce of marijuana in public, share up to one ounce with another adult without remuneration, and cultivate up to four plants per household at their primary residence, subject to visibility, labeling, and security requirements. Consumption is generally limited to private settings. However, retail sale of adult use cannabis remains illegal, and individuals who are not registered medical patients do not have a lawful means to purchase cannabis outside of the limited medical cannabis program. Public consumption, possession exceeding statutory thresholds, and distribution for remuneration remain unlawful and subject to civil or criminal penalties depending on the conduct. As a result, Virginia’s cannabis industry operates under a regime in which adult possession and limited cultivation are permitted, but no lawful means for an adult use consumer to purchase cannabis within a regulated retail market.
Recent Legislative Developments to Regulate Adult-Use Retail Market
Although the Virginia Cannabis Control Act (2021) contemplated a regulated commercial framework, the statute did not fully establish a regulated adult use retail market. Instead, it established certain structural elements—such as the role of a regulatory authority and the general concept of licensed cultivation, processing, and retail activity—while leaving critical components, including the authorization of retail sales, the scope and issuance of licenses, and the detailed regulatory and taxation framework, to subsequent legislative action. Following legalization of possession in 2021, the General Assembly passed multiple bills intended to establish such a market, but former Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed those measures in 2024 and 2025.
During the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers again passed legislation to create a regulated adult use retail market, with proposed sales beginning in 2027. The 2026 legislation would have established a regulated adult use retail market by creating a statewide licensing and regulatory framework governing the cultivation, processing, distribution, and sale of cannabis through approved businesses. It also would have authorized legal retail sales to adults aged 21 and over, with a defined start date (proposed for 2027) and a tax structure applicable to those transactions. The bill was intended to transition Virginia from its current “legal possession, no legal sales” environment to a regulated commercial marketplace overseen by state regulators.
However, on May 19, 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed that legislation, citing concerns that the bill did not provide a sufficiently developed regulatory framework or adequate enforcement, compliance, and oversight mechanisms for a new cannabis marketplace. As a result, Virginia remains in the same position it has occupied since 2021: a jurisdiction that has legalized possession and home cultivation but has not authorized a functioning regulated retail market.
