What Spanberger’s Victory Means for Virginia’s Cannabis Market

By Charles Alovisetti, Jack Crain

Nov 5, 2025

Following a closely watched election, Virginia’s path toward adult-use cannabis legalization may finally accelerate under newly elected Governor Abigail Spanberger. Her administration is expected to bring a more supportive posture toward adult-use legalization compared to the prior gubernatorial administration. Spanberger’s victory provides renewed momentum for implementing the adult-use framework that the General Assembly authorized in 2021 but never operationalized.

Comparing Candidate Views on Virginia Cannabis Reform

Spanberger has consistently signaled openness to regulated adult-use cannabis and has supported federal reforms that ease access to banking and capital for state-legal operators. In Congress, she has supported incremental reforms that improve compliance and transparency for cannabis companies while acknowledging the need for state-level implementation that prioritizes public health, youth prevention and consumer safety.¹

Her opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, was openly against the idea of adult-use legalization, and her election would have been a blow to the industry. While Earle-Sears has noted her support for medicinal cannabis programs, she has also taken the stance that the legalization of an adult-use cannabis market would be detrimental to Virginia communities and maintains the antiquated position that cannabis acts as a “gateway drug.”²

Virginia’s Current Cannabis Landscape

Virginia currently has a medical cannabis program that authorizes vertically integrated “pharmaceutical processors” to cultivate, manufacture, and dispense medical cannabis products. The Board of Pharmacy initially oversaw the program. The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) assumed regulatory responsibility on 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.³ Qualifying patients may receive medical cannabis recommendations from registered practitioners.⁴ 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.

Failure to Implement Adult-Use Legalization

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.⁵ In both 2024 and 2025, the Governor vetoed legislation that would have authorized commercial sales.⁶ As a result, Virginia permits possession but without a regulated adult-use retail market.

Virginia’s Strict Hemp Regulations and Enforcement Landscape

Current Virginia law regulates hemp products by placing a 2 milligrams per package limit and applying a total THC testing limit.⁷ The state’s hemp regulations effectively ban most intoxicating hemp products sold nationally, including a complete ban on THCA hemp flower.⁸

The state 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.⁹

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. Officials will swear in the Governor three days later.

Any 2026 legislation is likely to utilize House Bill 2485¹⁰ and Senate Bill 970¹¹, which are identical to measures vetoed in 2025.

Key components of those bills include:

Regulated retail cannabis market administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA).
Licensing to begin on September 1, 2025.
Seven license types structured around a three-tier model:
- Cultivation tiered by canopy size: micro, small, medium, large
- Processing
- Wholesale (commercial transfers routed through wholesalers, like a three-tier alcohol model)
- Retail store
- Testing facility (independent; cannot hold other licenses)
- Pharmaceutical processor conversion licensing, which permits integrated operations once the operator pays the $1 million conversion fee.
- Microbusiness and social equity licenses with limited, capped vertical integration rights.
Vertical integration is prohibited, meaning that companies cannot combine different market tiers, similar to the regulations in New York.
- Exceptions apply to microbusinesses and existing medical operators.
- Existing pharmaceutical processors may integrate cultivation, processing, and retail by paying the $1 million conversion fee and are subject to volume and ownership limits.
Applicants must demonstrate site control (ownership, lease, option, or other enforceable interest) and obtain local zoning approval.
At least 50 percent of new licenses in each category must go to social equity applicants in the first licensing round.
Social equity ownership requires at least 66 percent ownership and control by individuals who meet one of the following:
- Lived or were educated for three years in areas disproportionately impacted by cannabis enforcement as designated by the CCA
- Have a cannabis-related conviction or have a qualifying relative
- Graduated from a Virginia HBCU.
Retail sales may begin May 1, 2026, at the earliest
Localities may opt out of permitting retail stores by vote before January 1.
Creation of the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund to support education, job training, and reentry programs in communities disproportionately affected by enforcement.
Market caps of 350 retail stores, 25 wholesalers, and 100 processors, with tier-based cultivation limits.

Implications for Federal Cannabis Reform and Political Strategy

What does it mean for a clearly pro-cannabis candidate to beat a virulently anti-cannabis candidate? Drawing conclusions is difficult because the race involved several factors, and most voters did not focus on cannabis as a primary issue. 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.

Preparing 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.

Stakeholders should monitor upcoming legislative hearings, begin assessing potential sites and partnerships, and engage early with regulators and local governments 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. 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 honors, from McGill University and earned his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. 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.

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 Kyle Jaeger, Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates Clash On Marijuana At Debate, With GOP Nominee Worrying Users Could ‘Blow Everything Up’, Marijuana Moment (October 10, 2025), https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-gubernatorial-candidates-clash-on-marijuana-at-debate-with-gop-nominee-worrying-users-could-blow-everything-up/; Yenni Jimenez Acosta, ELECTION 2025: Weed is on the ballot this November, The Commonwealth Times (September 3, 2025), https://commonwealthtimes.org/2025/09/03/election-2025-weed-is-on-the-ballot-this-november/.

³ Medical Cannabis Program Overview, Va. Cannabis Control Auth., https://cca.virginia.gov/medicalcannabis (last visited November 2, 2025).

⁴ Id.

⁵ Va. Code Ann. §§ 4.1-1100 – 1101 (2025).

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ Charles Alovisetti & Jack Crain, Frequently Asked Questions About THCA Flower, Vicente LLP (September 11, 2025), https://vicentellp.com/insights/frequently-asked-questions-about-thca-flower/.

⁹Neil Willner, Virginia's 'Virginia's 'Total Law' Upheld by Fourth Circuit: What It Means for the Hemp Industry, Vicente LLP (January 14, 2025), https://vicentellp.com/insights/virginia-total-thc-hemp-law-upheld-by-fourth-circuit-what-it-means-for-the-hemp-industry/.

¹⁰ H.B. 2485, 2025 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2025).

¹¹ S.B. 970, 2025 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Va. 2025).