A Republican Virginia lawmaker has filed a bill to create a regulated marijuana market in the Commonwealth, but it’s drawing mixed reactions from advocates, some of whom view it as a giveaway to large, multi-state operators at the expense of equity for people harmed by the war on drugs.
Del. Keith Hodges (R) introduced the legislation, which would build on Virginia’s current law that allows legal adult-use cannabis possession and personal cultivation by establishing a commercial marketplace.
Advocates have been pushing the legislature to take the step to allow sales to begin. Lawmakers did include regulatory language as part of the legalization bill they passed in 2021 under full Democratic control of the state government. However, those components were subject to reenactment by a future legislature, and lawmakers didn’t do that in the 2022 session that saw Republicans back in control of the House of Delegates and governor’s office.
What this latest proposal, HB 1464, would do is amend the previously passed regulatory provisions, giving legislators an alternative model for the market. Some have defended the measure, arguing that the revised language provides a necessary and practical path forward to finally give consumers access to regulated products under a partially
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