SUFFOLK, Va. — As Virginia prepares for recreational marijuana sales in 2027, Suffolk officials are working to determine where cannabis businesses could operate within the city.
For businesses hoping to enter the recreational market in Suffolk, location could be key. City planners are considering how different cannabis operations, including retail stores, cultivation facilities and processors, would fit within Suffolk’s existing zoning rules.
Rachael Pavlik, regional director of operations for Zen Leaf in Virginia and Maryland, said the company is looking forward to the expansion of Virginia’s cannabis market.
“I think recreational sales introduce us into playing a bigger part in our community,” Pavlik said.
Zen Leaf already operates a medical marijuana dispensary in Suffolk, along with locations in five other Hampton Roads cities.
Currently, customers at the Suffolk location must be medical cannabis patients with a doctor’s certification. Pavlik said that would change under adult-use sales.
“Right now we are allowed to admit medical patients with a doctor's certification,” Pavlik said. “Under adult use, it will be any adult with a valid ID over the age of 21.”
While the state will oversee licensing and regulation of the industry, Suffolk is working through the land-use side of the new market.
Meg Pittenger, Suffolk’s assistant director of planning, recently told the Planning Commission the city cannot prohibit marijuana uses outright. However, Suffolk retains zoning authority to determine where different cannabis businesses fit within its existing land-use framework.
“It’s still important to make sure you get it in the right places and also stay on the right side of what is legal so that we don’t end up in court,” Pittenger said.
Residential are off the table. Planners are examining how cannabis businesses could fit within agricultural, business, commercial and other appropriate zoning districts, depending on the type of operation.
Location restrictions will also affect where some businesses could open.
Under the framework Pittenger presented to commissioners, marijuana retailers and microbusinesses would generally have to remain at least 1,000 feet from schools, day care centers, hospitals and other marijuana retailers or microbusinesses.
Exactly how that distance will be measured is still being worked out.
Pittenger pointed to Godwin Boulevard and Sentara Obici Hospital as an example. Measuring 1,000 feet from the hospital building could produce a different result than measuring from the hospital property line, potentially affecting which nearby properties would qualify for a marijuana retailer.
"If somebody wants to operate a retail business on Godwin Boulevard, are we measuring all the way from the hospital building or are we measuring from the property line," said Pittenger.
For Zen Leaf, Pavlik said choosing locations in cooperation with local governments has already been part of the company's experience operating medical dispensaries.
“We just picked the locations that were best for the city, as well as for our business and for the community,” Pavlik said.
Location, however, would only be one part of the process. Zen Leaf would still need the appropriate state approval before expanding into recreational marijuana sales.
Suffolk planning staff is continuing to determine where each type of cannabis business could be permitted. Staff has said its proposals will return to the Planning Commission and City Council as the city prepares for Virginia’s new adult-use marijuana framework.
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