Virginia Is for (Cannabis) Lovers: Frequently Asked Questions About Cannabis in the Commonwealth

By Charles Alovisetti, Jack Crain

Dec 15, 2025

As Virginia transitions from a medical-only to an adult-use cannabis market, this resource will serve as an overview of frequently asked questions and will be updated from time to time.

Who Is the New Governor of Virginia, and What Are Her Views on Cannabis?

On November 4, 2025, Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger was declared the winner of Virginia’s gubernatorial election. Governor-elect Spanberger has consistently signaled openness to a regulated adult-use cannabis market and has supported federal reforms aimed at improving access to banking and capital for state-legal cannabis operators.

During her time in Congress, she supported incremental reforms to enhance compliance and transparency for cannabis businesses, emphasizing the importance of state-level implementation that prioritizes public health, youth prevention, and consumer safety.¹ Gov. Spanberger will be sworn into office on January 17, 2026, and is expected to support renewed efforts to legalize adult-use cannabis in Virginia.

What’s Virginia’s Current Cannabis Landscape?

Virginia currently operates a medical cannabis program authorizing vertically integrated “pharmaceutical processors” to cultivate, manufacture, and dispense medical cannabis products. The program was initially overseen by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, with regulatory authority transferred to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) as of January 1, 2024.

These licensees operate a limited number of dispensary locations across the state and are the only legal commercial cannabis operators in Virginia today. Qualifying patients may receive medical cannabis recommendations from registered practitioners. While the medical market is functional and expanding at a measured pace, its footprint remains small relative to what a regulated adult-use market would support.

Who are the Current Pharmaceutical Processors?

There are currently five licensed pharmaceutical processor licenses, one for each health service area in Virginia, and they are all held by multi-state operators:

AYR Virginia (Northwestern Virginia)
Jushi Holdings as Beyond Hello (Northern Virginia)
Green Thumb Industries as Rise (Southwest Virginia)
The Cannabist Company, as Cannabist and gLeaf (recently purchased by Curaleaf – South Central Virginia and Eastern Virginia, with an original license purchased from Verano).²

Was There a Previous Attempt to Legalize in Virginia?

Yes. In 2021, Virginia passed legislation legalizing possession of cannabis for adults and created a framework for adult-use sales. However, implementation required reenactment legislation that lawmakers never finalized.

Under the current law signed by former Governor Ralph Northam, Virginians 21 and older may possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis and home-cultivate up to four plants per household, but no legal retail system exists.³

In both 2024 and 2025, then-Governor Youngkin vetoed legislation that would have authorized commercial sales of hemp.⁴ As a result, Virginia permits possession but without a regulated adult-use retail market.

What’s the Hemp Legal Landscape in Virginia?

Current Virginia law regulates hemp products by placing a 2 milligram per package limit and applying a total THC testing limit. The state’s hemp regulations effectively ban most intoxicating hemp products sold nationally, including a complete ban on THCA hemp flower.⁵

The Commonwealth has pursued active enforcement against hemp products that exceed these thresholds, including products marketed as Delta-8 or similar intoxicating cannabinoids. Virginia courts upheld the state's regulatory approach in litigation, rejecting plaintiffs' arguments that the Commonwealth's regulations were preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill.

What to Expect from Virginia’s 2026 Cannabis Legalization Bills?

Lawmakers are expected to revisit adult-use cannabis legalization in the upcoming legislative session. The 2026 session of the Virginia General Assembly, which consists of the House of Delegates and the Senate, convenes on January 14, 2026.

Any 2026 legislation is likely to be based on House Bill 2485 and Senate Bill 970, which are identical to measures vetoed in 2025, with certain key proposed changes.⁶

Have Any Proposed Changes to the 2025 Bill Been Announced?

Yes. On December 2, at its final meeting before the General Assembly convenes in January, the Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market proposed changes to the adult-use framework contained in HB 2485 and SB 970.⁷

The Commission emphasized that these proposals do not represent final bill text. Instead, they outline the amendments that legislative staff will use to prepare updated adult-use legislation for introduction at the start of the 2026 session.

What Are the Proposed Changes?

Here are the key changes, incorporating the original bill, proposed by the Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market:⁸

Timeline

July 1, 2026: CCA begins accepting applications.
September 1, 2026: Up to 100 DTC microbusiness licenses issued.
November 1, 2026: Retail sales begin for licensees meeting operating requirements.

Licensing and Market Structure

Retail license cap remains at 350.
Tier V canopy reduced from 70,000 sq. ft. to 35,000 sq. ft.
New full microbusiness license allowing cultivation, processing, onsite retail, and delivery of self-produced products.
Temporary DTC microbusiness program for qualifying hemp growers, impact applicants, and USDA-qualified farmers.
New delivery operator license.

Ownership, Vertical Integration, and Market Concentration

Annual CCA audits plus a public ownership registry.
Any interest, including below 0.01 percent, counts toward license caps.
20 percent change-of-control standard requiring prior approval.
Transfers of licenses can be denied if they create undue market concentration
All financing, management, and brand-licensing agreements subject to Board approval.
Anti-tied-house restrictions on loans, gifts, service arrangements, or brand deals that influence pricing or shelf space.

Equity and Small-Business Participation

“Microbusiness” renamed “Impact Licensee.”
Updated criteria: out-of-state convictions included; marijuana distribution felonies included; census-tract policing data from 2015–2025 used; distressed farmers eligible.
Applicants must meet four of seven criteria.
CCA must establish ownership-percentage targets across the supply chain.
Pharmaceutical-processor-operated retail locations must stock a Board-defined percentage of impact-licensee and microbusiness products.
Increased funding for the Cannabis Equity Business Loan Fund.

Zoning, Local Authority, and Advertising

One-mile buffer between retail stores.
1,000-foot buffers from sensitive uses.
Local opt-outs repealed.

Medical Integration and Hemp Conversion

Pharmaceutical processors may convert up to nine locations with a $10 million conversion fee.
Up to five hemp growers or processors may convert with a $500,000 fee.

Taxation and Revenue Allocation

Local tax authority increased to “up to 3.5 percent.”
Paraphernalia removed from local tax base.

How Can I Prepare for Virginia’s Adult-Use Cannabis Market?

For investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, Virginia represents one of the most closely watched emerging markets in the Mid-Atlantic. The implications of a victory for cannabis, especially so close to D.C., in a battleground state, should not be ignored.

Nationally, the result could influence policymakers in both parties. Republican strategists and President Trump may take the lesson from this election that cannabis rescheduling or moderate federal reform would be an easy political win.

Stakeholders should monitor upcoming legislative hearings, begin assessing potential sites and partnerships, and engage early with regulators and local governments (although opt-out was removed, locals still have considerable zoning power) to ensure a smooth process.

The regulatory landscape is moving quickly, and early preparation will position companies to enter the market effectively once legislation advances.

To stay informed about Virginia and regional developments, sign up for DMV cannabis updates from Vicente LLP.

For questions about how these changes could impact your business or investment strategy, contact our team.

About the Authors

Charlie Alovisetti is a partner at Vicente LLP and co-chair of the firm's Corporate Department. Charlie is based in the firm's Bethesda, Maryland, office and is admitted to practice in Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C., with pending admission to Virginia. He advises investors, companies, and other law firms on complex corporate transactions across highly regulated industries, with a particular depth of experience in cannabis, hemp, psychedelics, and emerging consumer products.

Extensive experience managing licensed transactions across major regulated markets provides Charlie with deep insight into state and local regulatory nuances, particularly regarding stock and asset acquisitions, management structures, and strategic investment planning. He also counsels emerging growth and portfolio companies on general corporate governance, commercial transactions, and compensation arrangements.

Recognized by Chambers & Partners as a leading attorney in cannabis law, Charlie is the co-author of The Business of Cannabis: Understanding Law, Finance, and Governance in America’s Newest Industry, the definitive industry legal resource. He frequently advises mainstream companies exploring investments in regulated markets, helping them evaluate and structure opportunities to mitigate risk.

Before joining Vicente LLP, Charlie practiced corporate law at Latham & Watkins and Goodwin in New York, representing clients across various industries. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, with honours, from McGill University and earned his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Jack Crain is a third-year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a law clerk with Vicente LLP. Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from DePauw University and is originally from Louisville, Kentucky.

¹ Politician Info: Abigail Spanberger (D–VA), NORML, https://vote.norml.org/politicians/179682 (last visited November 2, 2025); Tony Lange, Where Candidates Stand on Cannabis in Virginia, New Jersey 2025 Gubernatorial Races, Cannabis Business Times (September 22, 2025), https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/us-states/virginia/news/15756009/where-candidates-stand-on-cannabis-in-virginia-new-jersey-2025-gubernatorial-races.

² Medical Cannabis Pharmaceutical Processors — Virginia Cannabis Control Authority

³ Va. Code Ann. §§ 4.1-1100 – 1101 (2025).

⁴ Dean Mirshahi, Youngkin vetoes retail weed again; Virginia to keep half-baked rules, VPM (March 25, 2025), https://www.vpm.org/news/2025-03-25/youngkin-vetoes-retail-weed-again-virginia-to-keep-half-baked-rules.

⁵ Tony Lange, Federal Court Rules Virginia’s Total THC Hemp Regulations Supersede 2018 Farm Bill, Cannabis Business Times (January 9, 2025), https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp-derived-cannabinoids/news/15711724/federal-court-rules-virginias-total-thc-hemp-regulations-supersede-2018-farm-bill.

⁶ H.B. 2485, 2025 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2025).; S.B. 970, 2025 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2025).

⁷ Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market

⁸ Joint_Commission-proposed_legislative_changes.pdf