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Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation today that sought to establish regulations overseeing the adult-use cannabis market in Virginia. Youngkin vetoed similar legislation in 2024.
In response to the Governor’s veto, JM Pedini — NORML’s Development Director and the Executive Director for Virginia NORML — said: “Once again, Governor Youngkin has prioritized his personal politics over public safety, opting to keep control of Virginia’s marijuana market squarely in the hands of unregulated operators. This common-sense legislation would have taken marijuana out of corner stores and smoke shops and legalized access only for those age 21 and older in licensed dispensaries. Instead, these vetoes put at risk the health and safety of adult consumers and children alike, and provide protections to no one but the illicit market that has ballooned during his time in office.”
State lawmakers in 2021 enacted legislation legalizing the use, possession, and personal cultivation of marijuana by adults. That legislation called upon lawmakers to authorize licensed cannabis sales by no later than January 1, 2024. However, when Republicans gained control of the House and Governorship in 2022, they failed to advance legislation to do so.
In November 2023, Democrats regained control of the House and maintained control of the Senate, clearing a path for the cannabis retail sales legislation to advance to the governor’s desk largely along party lines.
According to statewide polling data compiled in 2023, 60 percent of Virginians “support allowing the retail sale of recreational marijuana in Virginia.”
Delegate Paul Krizek, Chief Patron of the House version of this year’s retail sales bill, said: “Governor Youngkin has once again failed the citizens of Virginia by allowing an already thriving illegal cannabis market to persist, fueling criminal activity and endangering our communities. He had the opportunity to safeguard Virginians, but instead this will only exacerbate the proliferation of illicit products, posing greater risks to our schools and public safety.”
The Governor’s veto was not unexpected. During his 2025 State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Youngkin reiterated his opposition to legalizing adult-use retail sales stating, “Everyone knows where I stand on establishing a retail marijuana market.” In his remarks, Gov. Youngkin alleged that jurisdictions with regulated adult-use markets have experienced “significant negative impacts” on mental health and adolescents’ safety. In fact, federally funded survey data reports that teens’ use of marijuana is at historic lows. Further, studies from both the United States and Canada have failed to identify a relationship between marijuana legalization and increased incidences of psychiatric illnesses among either high-risk individuals or the general population.
Governor Youngkin previously claimed that states that have legalized marijuana have not disrupted the illicit marketplace. In reality, a 2023 survey of consumers residing in legal states reported that 52 percent of respondents primarily sourced their cannabis products from brick-and-mortar establishments. Only six percent of respondents said that they primarily purchased cannabis from a “dealer.”
A separate 2022 economic study reported that consumers are most likely to transition to the legal marketplace in jurisdictions where state-licensed retailers are widely available. According to the study’s findings, “States with roughly 20 to 40 legal regulated stores per 100,000 residents, in general, have captured 80 percent to 90 percent of all cannabis sales in the legal market.”
Governor Youngkin proposed amendments to legislation seeking to improve the state’s medical cannabis program. HB 1989 provides operational adjustments to the medical cannabis program, including labeling that is easier for patients to read and legal protections for direct-to-patient delivery. Youngkin’s amendments would greatly diminish patient access by severely limiting direct-to-patient deliveries.
“These mean-spirited amendments would greatly diminish patient access by severely restricting the medical cannabis program’s direct-to-patient delivery process which has notably been operating without incident since its inception,” added NORML’s Pedini.
Governor Youngkin also vetoed a bill protecting parental rights for parents who lawfully consume cannabis and separate legislation that would have facilitated resentencing relief for people previously convicted of certain marijuana-related offenses.
Additional information is available from Virginia NORML.
“}]] Another year of mixed results Read More
