[2][3] In April 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam approved a bill to decriminalize simple marijuana possession, which took effect July 2020.
[5] In the 1990s, the Virginia General Assembly tightened the laws on cannabis, but added a provision allowing its use and distribution for cancer and glaucoma.
Before July 2020 in the Commonwealth of Virginia, possession of cannabis as a first offense was an unclassified misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and/or $500 fine (or both), and loss of driving privileges.
However, with a change in the law as of July 1, 2017, the loss of driving privileges was then optional for adults (depending upon the judge's discretion) while still mandatory for juveniles.
[8] A subsequent offense was previously a Class 1 misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of 12 months in confinement and a $2,500 fine (or both), plus loss of driving privileges.
The first-offender program was controversial, because it could affect immigration status and did not allow the defendant to qualify for expungement, and as a result, remained on the individual's record for life.
In 1998, the Virginia General Assembly tightened the laws on medical cannabis use and added a provision allowing its use and distribution for cancer and glaucoma.
[19][20] In September 2018, the Virginia State Board of Pharmacy approved the applications for five companies to open medical cannabis dispensaries across the Commonwealth.
[23] Starting July 1, 2023, doctors, osteopaths, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners licensed in Virginia no longer need to register with the Board of Pharmacy before prescribing medical cannabis for treatment or symptom relief.
[29] Following the 2019 Virginia elections, in which Democrats won control of both houses of the General Assembly, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring called for cannabis to be eventually legalized; he scheduled a Cannabis Summit for December 2019 to address the issues of decriminalization of marijuana, social equity, regulating CBD and hemp products, and pathways towards legalization through legislative efforts.
[37] As part of HB 972, which was signed by Governor Ralph Northam on May 21, 2020, four members of the Governor’s Cabinet (the Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security) were chosen to lead a group of government officials, policy experts, healthcare professionals, and community leaders that would examine the effects of legalizing the sale and personal use of marijuana in Virginia.
[38] A report by JLARC or the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission found that the retail sales from a legal marijuana market would produce substantially more revenue than the associated state costs.
[53] The conference committee reached agreement on a bill on February 27 regarding legalization (including cultivation, retail sales and possession) on January 1, 2024, and the Assembly passed it the same day and sent it to Governor Northam for approval.
[71][72][73] The General Assembly also passed a law in 2022 banning the sale of THC edible products shaped like animals, humans, vehicles, or fruits.
[75] In July, 2023, the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, stated that the Youngkin administration was "not interested in any further moves towards legalization of adult recreational use marijuana".