Virginia allows adult pot, though retail sales are still years away

When the clock struck midnight to mark the start of Thursday, history was made – marijuana legalization had finally arrived in the southern United States.

As of July 1, adults 21 and older in the Commonwealth of Virginia can legally use and possess marijuana. The new law stems from a bill passed by the Virginia legislature back in April and promptly signed by the state’s Democratic governor Ralph Northam.

The law makes Virginia the first southern state to lift the ban on recreational cannabis use.

It initially seemed that the Virginians would have to wait years for the new law to take effect, but the schedule was accelerated at Northam’s urging. However, the state-regulated marijuana market won’t open to trading until January 1, 2024.

According to local television broadcaster WSET, state lawmakers will tackle “the rules for growing and selling marijuana” and enforcing the new law when they meet again for the next legislature.

After signing the bill in the spring, Northam described it as part of an effort to “build a fairer Virginia and reform our criminal justice system to make it fairer.”

“What this really means is that people are no longer arrested or punished for simple possessions that follow them and affect their lives,” Northam said at a press conference at the time. “We know that marijuana laws in Virginia and across the country have been disproportionately enforced against color communities and low-income Virginians.”

According to NORML, the new law in Virginia allows “adult sharing” of “up to an ounce of marijuana or an equivalent amount of marijuana products between people 21 years of age or older without compensation under the new law,” but this provision does not include “cases where marijuana is given away at the same time as another mutual transaction between the same parties; a gift of marijuana is offered or advertised in connection with an offer to sell goods or services; or a marijuana gift is contingent on a separate mutual transaction for goods or services. “

Starting Thursday, the new law also allows Virginia adults to grow up to four plants per household, although it requires “that no marijuana plant be visible from a public path without the use of airplanes, binoculars, or other optical aids, and” that Precautions are taken to prevent unauthorized access by anyone under the age of 21, ”says NORML.

Virginia lawyers are fighting for a change in the law

Despite this achievement, marijuana advocates in the Commonwealth are unwilling to rest on their laurels. The Virginia Mercury reported Thursday that advocates in Virginia are already aiming to postpone the 2024 start date for retail sales.

“Our priority in the 2022 legislature is to accelerate retail access for adult consumers, both through operating medical dispensaries and by postponing the date when VCCA can begin issuing new licenses,” Jenn said Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, quoted by Virginia-Mercury.

The new recreational marijuana program is overseen by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, which has stressed that no marijuana sale will be legal before 2024. Until then, the agency said, “It remains a crime to sell lots of marijuana.”

“The law will create a new, independent political division (“ an agency ”) to regulate the marijuana industry, including licensing businesses, establishing health and safety guidelines, and promoting diversity within the industry. The Cannabis Control Authority can begin operations on July 1, 2021. It won’t finalize marijuana regulations or accept business applications before 2023, ”the agency stated on its website.