Virginia’s legislative session began last week, and several important cannabis policy reform bills have already been introduced. The following pieces of legislation all appear to have a realistic chance of passing in 2021:
- SB 1406 would legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis with a strong emphasis on social equity.
- HB 2218 and SB 1333 would allow registered patients to use whole-plant, flower cannabis rather than limiting them to only the use of extracts.
- HB 2113 and SB 1283 would require automatic expungement of criminal records for past cannabis-related offenses.
It’s encouraging to see that the governor and many legislators want Virginia to move forward with cannabis policy reforms in 2021, but some elected officials still aren’t sure it is a good idea. If you live in Virginia, please write your state legislators today and urge them to support reforming Virginia’s cannabis laws by passing these important bills!
If you are a patient who would benefit from access to whole-plant cannabis, please also take a moment to email the members of the Health, Welfare and Institutions (HWI) Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Professions. They are scheduled to consider HB 2218 on Thursday, and it’s important that the delegates on this committee hear from you. If you have a personal story to share that illustrates why access to whole-plant cannabis is important to you, it would be great if you could include that in your message to legislators.
After you take action, please share this message with your friends and family!