VA. — Gov. Abigail Spanberger has vetoed legislation that would have created a recreational marijuana market in Virginia after the General Assembly rejected her proposed amendments.
House Bill 642, by Del. Paul Krizek, and Senate Bill 542, from Sen. Lashrecse Aird, would have created a retail marijuana market, legalizating recreational sales to adults.
Virginia first legalized marijuana possession for adults aged 21 and older in 2021, but bills to legalize non-medical sales have been vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
This session, lawmakers passed the bill this year, but Spanberger sent it back to the General Assembly with amendments.
Among other items, Spanberger proposed pushing the start date back to July 2027, but after the General Assembly rejected her changes, Spanberger vetoed the bill.
Watch related: Virginia Beach city leaders prepare for retail marijuana market
"The General Assembly has been leading on marijuana legalization for years, and Governor Spanberger is committed to working together to safety and successfully create a retail marijuana market," Spanberger's press secretary said in a previous email to News 3.
Currently, adults 21 and older in Virginia can legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to four plants at home. However, residents still cannot legally purchase marijuana in a store.
In a statement sent to News 3, Spanberger said that she shares a common goal with the General Assembly to establish a safe and legal retail marijuana market, but does not believe the bill in its current state can create that.
"As Virginia pursues a legal retail market, it is critical that we incorporate lessons learned by other states and ensure that our regulatory framework is fully prepared to provide strong oversight from day one," Spanberger wrote. "That includes clear enforcement authority and sufficient resources for compliance, testing, and inspections, and robust tools to crack down on bad actors who continue to profit from the illicit market."
Spanberger said she is looking forwarded to working with legislators to strengthen the bill's framework ahead of next year's legislative session.
CannaJustice Coalition, a group of advocates lobbying the retail market, wrote in a statement sent to News 3 that the decision keeps Virginia "stuck in a limbo" — a limbo where adults can possess and grow marijuana legally, but still do not have a regulated, legal way to buy it.
"This decision undermines the progress advocates have fought for on parental rights and resentencing of people still impacted by past marijuana offenses," they wrote.
Spanberger recently signed a bill that gave Virginians incarcerated for some pre-legalization marijuana-related offenses an automatic sentence modification process, which the coalition says means little without a legal retail market.
"Vetoing a legal retail market keeps that same unjust system in place, where enforcement and penalties still fall hardest on Black, Brown, and working-class communities," CannaJustice said.
They called this veto a setback but said they will continue to lobby for their cause.
"Together," they wrote, "Virginia can still land on the right side of history."
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