Cannabis in Virginia
Buy Cannabis In Virginia. Cannabis in Virginia is legal for medical use and recreational use. The first medical marijuana dispensary opened in August 2020,[1] and adult recreational use became legalized in July 2021.[2][3]
In April 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam approved a bill to decriminalize simple marijuana possession, which took effect July 1, 2020. In February 2021, both houses of Virginia’s General Assembly passed legislation to fully legalize cannabis, with an effective date of 2024.[4][3] The bill received broad support, despite no Republicans in either house of the state Assembly voting in favor.[5] On April 7, 2021, the legislature approved amendments made by Northam; the most notable change had legalization begin July 1 of the same year, much sooner than the bill’s original 2024 effective date.[2][6] The new law allows adults (aged 21 and over) to possess up to 1 ounce (28 g) of marijuana, to cultivate up to four plants per household, as well as “adult sharing” of marijuana where there is no concurrent commercial transaction.[2] The bill does, however, contain a “re-enactment clause” on the retail sales provisions which do not go into effect in 2021; as a result, Virginia lawmakers will have to approve them again during their general session next year, after the 2021 Virginia elections.[2]
Virginia is the first state in the southern United States to legalize adult-use cannabis (the first jurisdiction in the South to legalize being the District of Columbia)
Medical cannabis in Virginia
Buy Cannabis In Virginia. In 1979, Virginia passed legislation allowing doctors to recommend cannabis for glaucoma or the side effects of chemotherapy.[14][15] In 1997, repeal of the medical cannabis law seemed certain, but did not actually happen. For many years, though, the medical cannabis law was non-functioning[16] because prescriptions were disallowed by federal law, given cannabis’s status under the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I controlled substance with no accepted medical use. In 1998, the Virginia General Assembly tightened the laws on medical cannabis use and added a provision allowing its use and distribution for cancer and glaucoma.[17]
In March 2015, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed House Bill 1445 and Senate Bill 1235, creating affirmative defense against a possession charge that cannabidiol oil (also known as CBD oil) and THC-A oil for patients who have a doctor’s recommendation for those substances for treatment of epilepsy.[18][19][20] The bill had passed Virginia’s Senate with a vote of 37–1 in February.[21][22]
In September 2018, the Virginia State Board of Pharmacy approved the applications for five companies to open medical cannabis dispensaries across the Commonwealth.[23][24] As of April 2019 only 251 of the 35,404 doctors licensed to practice in Virginia had registered with the state to write medical cannabis recommendations.[25] Also legislation passed in 2019 allowing doses to contain up to 10 mg of THC to patients.[26][27] The first medical marijuana dispensary n Virginia would not open until August 2020 with three others slated to open before the end of the year.
