RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) – Legislation that would have allowed the sale of recreational marijuana will not win approval this year in the Virginia General Assembly.
A House of Delegates subcommittee voted Monday to “carry over” the legislation until 2023.
“It looks like we have an excited room before us, for one very exciting bill,” said Subcommittee Chair Del. Emily Brewer (R-Smithfield) as the meeting began.
The marijuana legislation has been a work in progress, and Del. Jeff Campbell (R-Marion) argued there were too many issues to resolve before the end of the session.
“And I think… the imperative is that we continue to study this over the year and try to get this right,” Campbell said, making a motion to carry over the legislation.
Virginia Lawmakers legalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana last year. The legislation under consideration would establish a legal marketplace, with pharmaceutical processors providing the first sales for recreational use in September.
Delaying that, supporters said, will allow the illicit market to flourish.
“And the longer we wait to have a regulated market, I think the harder it will be to take control or even compete with that illicit market,” said Del. Dawn Adams (D-Richmond).
Luke Niforatos is the Executive Vice President of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization and commercialization of marijuana. He praised the subcommittee’s decision.
“This is a policy that I think Virginia legislators took a hard look at and said you know what, this isn’t working out in other states and this isn’t something we want to bring to Virginia,” Niforatos said in an interview. “And they made the right choice.”
JM Pedini is the Development Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Executive Director of Virginia NORML, which supported the legislation.
“Ultimately this is failure by leadership both in the House and the Senate to move forward legislation that would address retail sales,” Pedini told WDBJ7. “The damage done is to Virginians, and it doesn’t really benefit anyone except for the illicit market.”
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