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See our FAQs: Virginia’s marijuana laws explained.
Virginia is the only state where personal possession of small amounts of cannabis is legal but retail sales are not. We recently ran three opinion pieces about this as part of our Cardinal Way project on civil discourse. State Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, made the case for legalizing retail sales. Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, made the case against. Then Mike Troxel of the Virginia Hemp Coalition made the case for less regulation, not more.
With each, we asked readers to weigh in. We heard from more people in favor of legalization than against, but this was not meant as a scientific survey. Rather, it was an attempt to get some flavor of the feelings on each side. Here are some representative responses. First, the yes side, then the no, then one reader who’s not sure:
Yes, retail sales should be legalized
Cannabis has therapeutic properties
My kidneys were only operating 36% when my kidney doctor took me off of my pain meds and told me about the benefits of cannabis. Since I stopped taking my pain medicine and started using cannabis a few years ago my kidneys are back to normal.
– Thomas J. Kramer, Norge
I suffer from chronic pain. Now that our government has restricted the doctors from giving pain medication to legitimate, non drug seeking patients, marijuana provides the only relief I can get. And, the hopeful reduction of drug deaths in the USA, by restricting prescription drugs, has not come to pass. In fact, drug related deaths have increased, as people buy black market pain meds that are combined with powerful, illegal tranquilizers, and they become innocent victims.
– Deborah Arbogast, Harrisonburg
Since we can’t access any pain medicine, older folks need this to help with the pains of growing old and we certainly can’t afford the price of medical cannabis in Virginia.
– John Wertbenbach, Virginia Beach
Since I became a medical user in 2020, I’ve managed to leave prescribed narcotics. I get better pain management that lasts longer & does not make me tired or unproductive.
– Randall Schiera, Abingdon
Cannabis is not just a recreational product or a potential revenue stream — it is a proven medicine. Extensive research, including studies published in respected journals like The Lancet and JAMA, confirms its efficacy in treating conditions like chronic pain, epilepsy, PTSD, and multiple sclerosis. The U.S. government’s own patent (No. 6,630,507) recognizes cannabinoids as neuroprotectants and antioxidants. Furthermore, cannabis has demonstrated significant potential in reducing opioid use and dependence, providing a safer alternative to dangerously addictive painkillers … cannabis is more than a public safety issue or economic opportunity — it is a plant with the potential to transform health care, create equity, and honor millennia of human history. We must stop treating it as a dangerous substance and embrace its role as a medicine and a natural resource.
– Scott McStacy, Forest
People are going to smoke it anyway, so we may as well tax it
Virginia needs the tax money in our schools. People will smoke it regardless. We may as well make money from the sales.
– Kathy Cook, Front Royal
Tax revenues alone should convince people. Right now, Maryland and DC are reaping benefits from Virginians travelling there to buy cannabis products. We should bring that revenue stream home!
– David Hardin, Midlothian
It’s getting to the point where people are getting stuff out of state and even online, so why not keep the billions in VA.
– Derrick Pierce, Amherst
Prohibition supports huge criminal enterprises since it will be used, whether legal or not.
– Daniel Baskin Crawford, Roanoke County
Regulated sales would protect consumers. The black market doesn’t.
No responsible Virginian wants minors to have ready access to cannabis. Similarly, no one wants to have unlicensed, illegal dispensaries selling marijuana contaminated with pesticides, mold, or other harmful substances. Further, very few Virginians want to see Virginia cannabis sales monopolized by a very few (or one) corporate entities based out of state. All of these things (which are happening now) could be minimized or potentially eliminated by the establishment of a sensible regulatory infrastructure for adult-use cannabis sales in Virginia.
– David Orgel, Falls Church
I fully agree that a regulated retail market is essential to eliminate illegal dispensaries, ensure consumer safety, and create economic opportunities. However, Virginia must also prioritize social equity in cannabis legalization efforts. Small businesses must have a fair shot at participating in this new market. A descheduled cannabis industry would offer even greater economic potential, removing federal restrictions that hinder banking, interstate commerce, and research.
– Scott McStacy, Forest
All that and more
Legalizing recreational cannabis sales offers significant benefits to communities. First, it generates substantial sales tax revenue that can fund vital public services like education, infrastructure, and healthcare. Regulation ensures safer products by enforcing quality standards, reducing the risks associated with contaminated or mislabeled substances. Also, there is evidence that cannabis can be used to help many different types of medical, physical, and mental disorders; for example in pain management, it can help reduce dependence on opioids and other narcotics. The current medical cannabis market in VA is overpriced and it can be difficult to find consistent products, but recreational sales can help counter those issues through competition in a fully open market. Legalization also undermines black market operations, diverting revenue from illicit dealers to legitimate businesses that create jobs and contribute to the local economy. Additionally, legalization of recreation sales can lead to decreased law enforcement costs and a more equitable justice system, as fewer people are penalized for minor cannabis offenses. These benefits make a compelling case for ending the prohibition on recreational cannabis sales … I have a Master of Science in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Legalization, when done correctly, has benefits that far outweigh risks when compared to keeping it completely illegal or partly legal (like it is now).
– Cameron Howe, Lynchburg
Cannabis is no different from alcohol
If alcohol is legal and kills more people then legalizing and monitoring [cannabis] should be legalized.
– Terri Moore, Hanover County
The sale, possession, and responsible use of cannabis is not the problem — the problem is the irresponsible, reckless use. Sounds like alcohol, tobacco, and firearms, doesn’t it? Or even irresponsible use of FOOD, evidenced by the obesity epidemic, adult diabetes, and a whole host of related health concerns.
– Allen McKenna, Abingdon
Or maybe it is
I’ve never seen someone assault or kill another person under the influence of cannabis. Maybe it’s alcohol that we should be limiting.
– Angela Allen, Christinsburg
It’s natural and we shouldn’t ban something natural
Who do you trust, man or God and Mother Nature?? Think real hard.
– Jack Wilde, Arvonia
This is a matter of personal liberty
You do you and let me be.
– Julie Currin, Virginia Beach
As a veteran and citizen, I believe it’s up to me to use or not.
– John Wertbenbach, Virginia Beach
The government has no right to tell us what we need or what we want as citizens . . . Personally, I moved here from 2,500 miles away with the anticipation that legalization was coming in the near future I’ve been here now for five years and that’s just not happening. People want this, it is not as if we are going to run around forcing others to share & partake in the act but why did free people loose the right to do so if they choose to do so?. I want to live where it’s legal. Does the state really think by not legalizing it that it’s going to stop people? The answer is NO because regardless of the control , people are still getting it. They’re just getting it illegally, seriously how blind and ignorant can you be?
– Kasey Nunnys, Millboro
It comes from the earth. We want to be free to choose what goes into our bodies.
– Kelly Baker, Chesapeake
No, retail sales should not be legalized
It’s bad for kids
Too many children are prey!! Too many times children get hooked on marijuana because their parents smoke it … Once marijuana was legal in Virginia, you also started seeing children doing it more than usual because the parents did it.
– Gladys Urquia, Mount Vernon
It’s bad for people
Isn’t respiratory illness sufficiently widespread already? Is it wise to encourage youth to inhale anything but God’s clean air? (And where is clean air to be found today in the Commonwealth?) Show me actual individuals whose intellect, performance, and circumstances have been improved by Marijuana use!!
– Andy Haasm, no address
I have seen the detrimental efforts of it.
– Vickie Anderson Kidwell, Strasburg
It stinks. Literally.
As a renter it is horrific to have this odor and chemicals in your apartment when you’ve never smoked. I cannot afford to rent or buy a single family home yet, I’ve had to pay thousands of dollars each and every time I had to move from not one but three apartment complexes where weed odor wafted into my apartment and the landlords refused to take action on those preventing peaceful enjoyment of my unit. In one of those apartments, I actually did not have use of my larger/preferred master bedroom for more than 4 months out of my 12 month lease due to the heavy odor of marijuana and cigarette odor in my master bathroom because of my neighbor & that landlord did nothing despite a full year of complaints, yet I still had to pay my full rent every single month of $1,800.
It should have never even been made legal in any way. People are at grocery stores, roller rinks, the bank, post office, in multi-family apartment complexes and everywhere between reeking of this stuff if not outright smoking it in public (even while driving) … All smoke is bad for the bodies breathing it in. Period. Cigars, cigarettes, marijuana, etc. It should go back to being illegal in every city, state and at the federal level.
– V.L. Snead, Virginia Beach
We don’t need more impaired drivers on the road
As with alcohol, executive decision making can be severely affected, but with much lower levels of consumption. People use marijuana to experience its mind altering qualities, to go on ‘trips. ‘Alcohol is rarely consumed to cause mind altering experiences … Making it legal will not change how it affects the mind or change its pharmacology. We don’t need more impaired people on the road or operating dangerous equipment.
– Bonnie Bowman, South Boston
I own a business beside 2 share shops in southwest VA and I watch the magnitude of people coming and going, 7 days a week. I watch them leave their children unattended in vehicles that are so dilapidated they should not be legal on Virginia roads to RUN in and RUN out of the share shops and sometimes in less than a minute. I worry what these children are dealing with at home, I’ll worry for their safety in those vehicles knowing good and well that I’ve watched their parents smoke pot and then drive. I worry for the other motorists on the highways.
– Donna Harris, Weber City
This pot is different from what we used to have
It is not the pot of the ‘60s; it is way too strong. If it were regulated to be legal only up to a certain strength then yes. Even back then some people experienced anxiety; we need to protect our young people. On the other hand, personally I would never use it, I think it makes one too susceptible to be influenced or manipulated by others.
– JackeRose Boston, Lexington
Not sure
Others have to deal with the second-hand smoke
I am fine with people using it privately in their own homes, and not exposing children to it, but everywhere I go in public I now smell it and my child is exposed to it. I hate the smell and don’t want to be breathing in the smoke or scents from marijuana or tobacco. I am most bothered when walking outside for exercise, breathing heavily, and inhaling a huge breath filled with the smoke coming out of cars passing by — it makes me start coughing … Children need to stop coming to Lynchburg City Schools high from their parents or guardians smoking in the home. Inexcusable on the adults’ part.
– Sallie Amos, Lynchburg
“]] Some readers see legalization as a matter of personal liberty, others see tax revenue. Still others see more impaired drivers on the road and kids getting easier access to weed. Read More
