Marijuana and CBD oil in Virginia: ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’

After the Virginia General Assembly’s special session ended in the spring, what will happen with the state’s marijuana and cannabis rules still remains a mystery. As Yankee Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said, “it ain’t over till it’s over.”

Weren’t we supposed to learn more about how selling pot will work?

As we’ve previously reported, Virginia became the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana (see “Virginia to legalize recreational pot,” in our April 2021 newsletter). While the legalization was permanent, the provisions established by the Democratically controlled General Assembly governing marijuana sales and licenses, as well as the taxing scheme, were only tentative and required reenactment by the legislature. The ease with which that would occur was thrown into question as a result of last November’s elections when the Commonwealth chose a new Republican governor and a Republican House of Delegates.

Thus, going into the General Assembly 2022 session, there was much discussion about how the marijuana market should be established, including: