A coalition of hemp businesses that asked Virginia’s governor to veto legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales before she did so this week says the move presents an “opportunity” to craft better cannabis policy.
The Cannabis Small Business Association said in a press release on Tuesday that while its members support the idea of creating a “well-regulated adult-use cannabis market,” they were concerned that the now-vetoed bills would have “left Virginia’s existing small hemp operators and family-owned cannabis businesses without a viable path forward.”
“The veto is not a conclusion,” CSBA’s release said. “It is an opportunity.”
Days before Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) vetoed the cannabis commercialization legislation, CSBA, hemp companies and major alcohol retailer Total Wine & More sent the governor a letter asking her to do so and then “revisit” the issue in the 2027 session after “thorough stakeholder engagement and economic policy expert input.”
The main thrust of the legislation was to create a framework for legal and regulated sales of adult-use marijuana, but provisions inserted at the last minute before the proposal was sent to the governor’s desk last month would have also made significant changes to Virginia’s rules for hemp.
In particular, the final bill
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