The governor’s amendment would have made possession of over 2 ounces of cannabis punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

An amendment to Virginia’s Senate Bill 591, proposed by Gov. Glen Youngkin (R), would have made marijuana possession a more serious matter than it is today. However, Youngkin’s efforts fell flat because lawmakers refused to advance the bill altogether, advocacy group NORML reported. (Benzinga)

Republican Gov. Glen Youngkin’s recent attempt to recriminalize activities involving the possession of two ounces of marijuana by adults via the enactment of an amendment to SB 591 has been defeated for the session. That effort failed on Wednesday with lawmakers’ refusal to advance the bill it was added to, SB 591.

Legislators voted to re-refer SB 591 to the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services committee. With the 2022 legislative session having already ended, this vote effectively ends any further discussion on the legislation this year. 

The Virginia bill signed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin seeks to alleviate the delays experienced by many patients.

The governor of Virginia on Monday signed legislation aimed at easing access to the Commonwealth’s medical cannabis program.

Glenn Youngkin, the first-term Republican who took office earlier this year, signed a pair of bills, each identical to one another, that remove a requirement for patients to register with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy after receiving a certification from a medical provider. 

Despite commitments from both major parties to improve on and regulate the marijuana industry, cannabis advocates say the General Assembly has left a flourishing industry in the weeds. 

Jacob Williamson grows, makes, and sells hemp-based CBD products through his family’s Hens and Hemp farm. He went through the permitting process to be a hemp farmer when it became legal in 2019, but now he is leaving the industry.

“We can’t keep up with the multimillion-dollar cannabis industry coming into the state,” Williamson said.

“So, we’re just gonna stop because it’s too much.”

Virginia House Republicans squashed an effort to give people incarcerated for marijuana-related crimes an automatic resentencing hearing.

State lawmakers voted last year to allow adults to possess small amounts of marijuana. But Democrats said time restraints then kept proposals to include resentencing options for those incarcerated on marijuana convictions on the shelf.

Democratic state Sens. Scott Surovell (Fairfax) and Louise Lucas (Portsmouth) introduced a bill this legislative year that would have allowed those in state custody and on probation for marijuana-related felonies to ask a circuit court judge for a different sentence.

As Virginia puts recreational marijuana sales on hold, lawmakers are cracking down on another widely-sold substance that’s causing safety concerns. It may force some stores to close their doors this summer. 

Delta-8 is a chemical compound much like Delta-9 THC, the main intoxicating substance in marijuana. 

Despite the legalization of limited marijuana possession last year, it remains illegal to sell cannabis outside of medical dispensaries in Virginia.

Meanwhile, lawmakers say Delta-8 is in gas stations and specialty stores across the state due to loopholes in the law. One shop is reportedly owned by a state senator.

Unfortunately, Virginia lawmakers decide that 2022 is not the year for recreational cannabis in the state, much to advocates’ disappointment.

Recreational pot sales in Virginia will have to wait until at least next year, after Republican lawmakers in the commonwealth shot down a bill on Monday. This continues the saga of cannabis setbacks in the commonwealth. 

The Democratic-controlled state Senate last week passed the bill, which would have launched cannabis sales on September 15.

But the bill flamed out in the House of Delegates, where Republicans hold the majority, with lawmakers “arguing that there is not enough time to perfect the complex legislation, while promising to address it next year,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Del. Michael Webert's proposed bill would cut taxes on marijuana sales in half