It’s official. Starting today marijuana is now legal in the state of Virginia.
Recreational marijuana became legal on Thursday, the same day it was learned that Virginia has created the establishment of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, which will set up and regulate the budding industry.
Thursday also marked the legalization of possession and personal cultivation of marijuana in the commonwealth, while legal sales of the plant are slated to begin Jan. 1, 2024.
The law passed through the General Assembly earlier this year and provides the framework for the state’s marijuana industry.
The newly established authority will make regulations, issue licenses and carry out a social equity plan for the industry. The board can grant, suspend and revoke licenses needed by businesses to operate in the state’s recreational marijuana industry.
Governor Ralph Northam’s picks for the board and authority’s CEO hadn’t been named yet.
It may be possible to apply for a marijuana business license in 2023. The finer details of the licensing process haven’t been established yet.
There could be as many as 400 retail licenses, 450 cultivation licenses, 60 manufacturing licenses and 25 wholesale licenses statewide, though the board will determine the actual number of licenses in play for each category, explained Sen. Adam Ebbin, a chief patron of the Senate’s version of the legalization bill.
“I think the General Assembly is open to meeting the demand, but for a start we thought a limit made sense,” Ebbin said. “This will be a new industry and we wanted to do all we can to make it right.”
Retailers will be required to sell their marijuana and related products through in-person, face-to-face transactions.
The authority is scheduled to establish regulations and start to accept license applications six months before sales are legalized on Jan. 1, 2024.
