After several days of wrangling over details, legislators from the Virginia House and Senate have agreed to terms on a final version of the adult-use legalization bill. Today, both chambers voted to approve the compromise. 

Overall, we are happy with the cannabis legalization bills that have passed the Virginia House and Senate. This week, lawmakers from both chambers are engaged in a “conference committee” that is working to resolve differences between the two bills. Unfortunately, both bills still include one very bad provision that would criminalize bringing small amounts of cannabis into the Commonwealth from another jurisdiction.

On Tuesday, February 16, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Del. Jazz Lewis’ HB 32 to legalize and regulate cannabis equitably in Maryland.

Very exciting news: Today, the Virginia Legislature voted to advance legislation that would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older in the commonwealth!

Virginia’s cannabis legalization bills — HB 2312 and SB 1406 — passed their final committees yesterday. The House and Senate are expected to vote on these bills by tomorrow, which is their deadline for advancing the legislation.

Virginia’s cannabis legalization bills — HB 2312 and SB 1406 — have passed two committees each, but there is still much work to be done, and the outcome remains uncertain. Both bills must be considered by a third committee, Finance/ Appropriations. Then, at least one of these bills needs to pass the House or Senate by this Friday’s “crossover deadline” to have a chance of passing both chambers before the session concludes on February 11.

Virginia’s legislative session began last week, and several important cannabis policy reform bills have already been introduced.

Write your state legislators today and urge them to support ending cannabis prohibition in Virginia! Virginia made great strides on cannabis policy in 2020, and some political leaders are calling for the legislature to take the next step and pass a legalization bill in 2021. On November 16, Gov. Ralph Northam came out strongly in support of ending cannabis prohibition, saying “it’s time to legalize.” “Our Commonwealth has an opportunity to be the first state in the South to take this step, and…

Ask Gov. Northam to sign SB 5029 and SB 5013 into law. During a special legislative session, the Virginia General Assembly approved two important cannabis reform bills. Here’s what the legislation would do: SB 5029 would prevent law enforcement from using the odor of cannabis as a pretext for searching and seizing property. SB 5013 would give people issued a summons for cannabis possession the option of pre-paying the civil penalty instead of having to go to court. The bills now head to Gov.…

Please reach out to your representative to ask them to support the bill to reduce police-civilian contact over the supposed smell of cannabis. The Virginia General Assembly has begun meeting — in unprecedented circumstances — for a special session. Lawmakers have already filed over 200 bills aimed at budgeting, criminal justice, and police reform. Several cannabis reform bills have been proposed, and the Senate has already approved two modest but important reforms: SB 5029, which would prevent…