Virginia’s governor is seeking to explain why she vetoed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales in the state this week—saying she supports the overall reform but took issue with some of the details in the proposal that lawmakers sent her, including what she called a “rushed timeline” to launch the legal cannabis market and “far more stores across Virginia” than she thinks are appropriate.
“I continue to support the creation of a retail marijuana market,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said in an interview with WRIC-TV on Wednesday, pointing to current state law that allows adults to possess and grow cannabis for personal use but provides them no place to legally purchase it. “That’s an obvious bridge that we need to gap, but we need to do it with thoughtful, focused, implementable legislation.”
Lawmakers passed the cannabis sales bills in March, but the governor then suggested changes to the legalization proposal—including delaying the start date for sales by six months, increasing taxes and instituting new criminal penalties for cannabis consumers. The legislature last month declined to take up the amendments during a one-day reconvened session, however, effectively rejecting them. Spanberger then issued a veto on Tuesday.
In the new interview, the
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