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

After years of running local head shops and CBD stores, Evan Somogyi is planting the proverbial seeds to try to capitalize on the eventual recreational marijuana market in Virginia.

The owner of Kulture Smoke and Vape plans to relocate his Chesterfield outpost this spring to a former gas station at 10150 Hull St., where he’ll eventually aim to open a recreational marijuana dispensary.

The venture hinges on the expected opening of the recreational side of the industry in 2024, as laid out by the General Assembly last year. And while the rules for the nascent industry are still being set, Somogyi is willing to lay the groundwork now.

“We plan to build out the dispensary as if it were selling the adult-use cannabis,” Somogyi said.

The USDA has approved the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plan to regulate hemp production in the Commonwealth. This approval allows VDACS to continue as the primary regulator of hemp production in Virginia. Beginning Jan. 1, the production of hemp throughout the U.S. must comply with the 2018 federal Farm Bill’s hemp provisions and USDA’s Domestic Hemp Production Program regulations. Additionally, state departments of agriculture with USDA-approved plans, like VDACS, must regulate hemp production in accordance with the 2018 federal Farm Bill’s hemp provisions and USDA’s Domestic Hemp Production Program regulations.

A trio of old high school buddies are behind a new player in the local CBD scene.

VA Harvest, which sells CBD extracts and cremes in stores and online, launched in November.

The company has a budding retail presence, with products on shelves at grocery store Ellwood Thompson’s and Fan wellness store Blossom RVA, co-founder Bill Wingfield said. The company plans to expand locally and across the southeastern part of the country.

It also sells products through its website. The company’s 30 ml extracts are priced at $98 on the site, the same price as its 1 ounce topical creme.

VA Harvest plans to launch CBD products aimed at animals in the spring.

Virginia Cultivars hope to produce, educate and give back

July 1, 2021 was a historic date in Virginia as the Commonwealth became one of just 18 states to legalize marijuana for simple possession and home cultivation for adults 21 and over.

For some, like Hillsville’s Virginia Cultivars, that could mean a world of opportunity for both the business and the area. But first, Virginia Cultivars, located at 234 Virginia Street in Hillsville, wants to educate people about cannabis and the new laws, while also offering several new programs aimed at giving back to the community.

On April 8, Virginia became the first southern state to legalize the possession and use of marijuana by adults and the bill was signed into law July 1 by Gov. Ralph Northam.

"It is a huge day for equity in the Commonwealth," said then-House Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, after an exhaustive legislative process putting together the 300-page bill that was introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin and Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas. 

"Virginia is now the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana use, and I am so proud to have been able to carry this monumental legislation," said Herring.

But not everyone was supportive of the decision.

You can't buy cannabis without a medical card but you can grow it. One Virginia Beach store is making it easier for you to harvest your own marijuana.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)- A faster timeline for recreational marijuana sales is on the table in Virginia but the future of the legal market is hazy after Republicans swept statewide elections and likely flipped the House of Delegates. 

Earlier this year, Democrats legalized simple possession and limited home cultivation of marijuana when the party had total control in Richmond. 

With a now divided government, key details are still up for debate, including when sales will start, the structure of the market, what role social equity will play in licensing and where all that tax revenue will go.