The vote came after a conference committee struck a deal on Saturday to reconcile the different versions of the bill that passed both chambers earlier this month.
The impact: Virginia is the 16th US state to pass a marijuana legalization law for adult consumption, although sales do not begin until 2024. Only two other states – Illinois and Vermont – have passed legislation to legalize, tax and regulate recreational marijuana by middle of the legislature.
The move puts pressure on neighboring states, such as Maryland, where a bill to legalize adult use had its first hearing this month. New Jersey also recently enacted legalization, after voters overwhelmingly supported a referendum in November.
What is the next: Democratic Governor Ralph Northam defended legalization as a matter of racial justice.
Under compromise legislation, marijuana possession would not become legal until January 2024, when regulated sales are scheduled to begin. The state would begin creating a marijuana regulatory agency in July.
The bottom: The state decriminalized marijuana last year during a special session to address criminal justice reform. Virginia’s medical marijuana program is just beginning, and lawmakers passed a bill in this session that would expand the program to allow marijuana flower products.
Northam endorsed the legalization in November and asked lawmakers to approve his proposal during his state of the state address. The legislation was based on two extensive studies on the subject: a report from its administration and another from the non-partisan Legislative Audit and Review Committee.
The bills passed quickly through the chambers during a short 30-day session, which Northam extended with a special 16-day session. Lawmakers dealt with thorny issues like how to prevent large corporations from taking control of the marijuana market and how to deal with automatic purges of marijuana offenses when the criminal justice system lacks the technology to do so.
Opponents of marijuana legalization pointed to public health concerns, such as youth use and driving problems, as well as tobacco giant Altria’s lobby on the issue. Altria bought a $ 1.8 billion stake in Canadian marijuana company Cronos Group in 2018.
Marijuana advocates pointed to the damage from the disproportionate application of marijuana offenses in communities of color. The project contains robust provisions for social equality, including Prioritizing commercial licenses for individuals considered to have been disproportionately affected by criminal execution, which dissuaded some otherwise favorable Republicans from voting on the bill.
“Initially, I supported the approach that is included in this bill,” said the GOP Senate minority leader Thomas Norment during the plenary debate. Norment pointed to his defense of the marijuana decriminalization bill passed last year.
“I simply do not accept this social equity left aside in the issue of licenses. We don’t do it for alcohol, we don’t do it for other matters, ”he said.
The details: The bill would allow adults over the age of 21 to carry up to 30 grams of marijuana. Domestic cultivation would be allowed according to the law – up to two mature and two immature plants per family.
The bill establishes a 21% excise duty on marijuana and allows municipalities to add an additional 3% tax to retailers in addition to existing sales taxes. The proceeds from marijuana taxes would be used to finance pre-K education, substance abuse disorders treatment programs and other public health initiatives. A portion of the proceeds would also go to a Cannabis Stock Reinvestment Fund, which would provide resources such as scholarships and workforce development to communities disproportionately affected by drug repression.
Vertical integration would be allowed in circumstances limited to the grandfather in medical cannabis producers and industrial hemp processors. Microenterprises could also integrate vertically.