Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed a long-running effort to create a legal recreational marijuana market in the Commonwealth after the 2026 session. But the market isn’t totally dead yet.
“We have the shared priorities of wanting to have a legal framework for a recreational market that can make sense,” Spanberger said, perhaps ironically at the state’s newly opened forensic lab, speaking to conversations she called, “incredible and productive” with lawmakers who hope to see a legal weed market in the Commonwealth in the state’s budget.
Democrats have been trying to get a recreational weed market passed since decriminalizing marijuana in 2020. Expectations were high with Spanberger also being a Democrat, but she sent the market bill passed this year back to legislators with amendments they did not accept.
However, they could still include a recreational market in the budget, with a deadline for that funding document at the end of the month.
Delegate Paul Krizek, who led the market bill in the House, called recent talks “promising.”
“She’s been fair and knowledgeable, and we’ve made some great progress on a compromise," Krezik told Radio IQ Monday morning. "I’d say we’re one big team on this effort.”
And advocates like Chelsea Higgs Wise with Marijuana Justice were also optimistic.
“When we talk about public health and public safety, we have to show our true commitment," Higgs Wise said Monday. "And that means after five years since legalization, this is the year we make something happen.”
If talks continue successfully, Virginia’s legal weed market could get off the ground in the coming months.
