As Virginia lawmakers push ahead with an effort to legalize marijuana sales in the commonwealth, certain GOP members are finding themselves ideologically aligned with their Democratic colleagues, breaking with the majority of their caucus in support of creating a regulated marketplace for adults to purchase cannabis.
In a series of recent interviews, Republican legislators explained their votes last week to pass a House bill that would allow commercial cannabis sales at licensed retailers. The Senate similarly approved marijuana sales legislation last week, though it differs from the House version in ways that will ultimately need to be resolved before reaching the governor’s desk.
Del. Otto Wachsmann (R) told WVTF’s Radio IQ last week that he “went back and forth” on the proposed reform “a number of times” before making the choice to join the majority in support of HB 642 from Del. Paul Krizek (D).
“By putting guardrails on it and having a legal, legitimate market instead of the black market, we can better control underaged sales, hopefully eliminate those, as well as verify that that product being used is pure product that’s not adulterated,” Wachsmann said.
Asked about his vote in favor of the sales bill, Del. Wren Williams (R)
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