Virginia senators have passed a pair of bills to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana and reduce penalties for people with prior cannabis convictions.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-6 on Wednesday to advance legislation for Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D) to sell marijuana. Members also voted 12-TK3 to approve Senate President Louise Lucas’ (D) anti-cannabis measure.

Both measures then go to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, potentially before reaching a date.

Aird told colleagues in Wednesday’s speech that his bill “establishes a marketplace that protects consumers and puts health and safety first, ensures a balance in our regulatory framework that ensures legalization is consistent with public health and safety goals, and avoids past mistakes built into alcohol laws that allow the legal substance to continue to be criminalized.”

“I know there’s interest in aligning the approach we take in this legislation with (the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s) enforcement structure, but if we do that too narrowly, we risk building a legal system that relies on arrests, mandatory fines, mandatory minimums, prison sentences and low-level offenses,” he said. “And that approach has failed with alcohol and will fail again for cannabis.”

The panel accepted several amendments from Sen. Scott Surovell (D), the panel’s chairman, over Aird’s objection.

Among the changes are amendments to “essentially align the penalties for the illegal sale of alcohol with the illegal sale of marijuana,” Surovell said, bringing the penalties for minors in possession of cannabis on par with those for alcohol.

Another bench-approved amendment adds criminal penalties for buying marijuana from an unlicensed dealer.

Marijuana Justice’s Chelsea Higgs Wise supported the overall bill, but expressed concern about the recently passed criminal amendments, calling it “a step backwards.”

A representative of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP also said, “If we really want to prepare our children for success, we’re not going to criminalize them, but we’re going to figure out how to support them so they can make better choices.”

JM Pedini, director of development for advocacy group NORML and executive director of Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment that the organization is “deeply concerned about committee members’ re-criminalization of cannabis users and mandatory minimum approvals for marijuana.”

“It is particularly troubling that as this body moves to address resentment of marijuana-related penalties, it is simultaneously entertaining new ways to further criminalize consumers,” Pedini said.

Approval of the amended sales invoice comes in about a week The House General Laws Committee approved a supplemental version of the legislationDel. Paul Krizek (D).

As passed in committee, the legislation is largely in line with recommendations released by the legislature in December. Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition to the Commonwealth Retail Cannabis Market.

Since legalizing cannabis ownership and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have been working to establish a commercial marijuana market– Only for those efforts to stall under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures sent to his desk by the Legislature.

the senate the version calls for sales to begin on January 1, 2027, while the House bill stipulates that the sale of cannabis for adult consumption can begin on November 1 of this year.

Here are the main details of Virginia’s legal marijuana sales legislation:

• Adults would be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products, as determined by regulators.
• The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and regulation of the new industry. Its board of directors would have the authority to control the possession, sale, transportation, distribution, delivery and testing of marijuana.
• A tax of up to 12.625 percent would apply to the retail sale of any cannabis product. That would include a 1.125 percent state retail and use tax on top of a new 8 percent marijuana-specific tax. Local governments can charge an additional 3.5 percent.
• The tax revenue would be divided between the costs of administering and enforcing the state’s marijuana system, a new Cannabis Equity Investment Fund, pre-kindergarten programs, substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs, and public health programs such as awareness campaigns designed to prevent drug-impaired driving and discourage underage use.
• Local governments could not allow marijuana companies to operate in their area.
• Delivery services would be allowed.
• Serving sizes would be limited to 10 milligrams of THC, with no more than 100 mg of THC per package.
• Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market if they pay a $10 million license conversion fee.
• Cannabis businesses should implement peaceful labor agreements with their employees.
• A legislative committee would direct the addition of local consumer licenses and micro-enterprise cannabis event permits that would allow licensees to hold sales at farmers markets or pop-up locations. The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority would also investigate the possibility of involvement in marijuana regulation and enforcement.

Just sworn Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) supports legalizing the sale of marijuana to adults.

Another cannabis law passed by a Senate committee Wednesday would require people with certain felonies to automatically receive resentencing hearings and adjust their sentences. A Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. Also advanced House Companion version of (D). recently

The legislation would create a process for people who are incarcerated or under community supervision for certain crimes involving the possession, manufacture, sale or distribution of marijuana to receive an automatic sentencing hearing.

The invoice It applies to people with convictions or convictions for conduct that occurred before July 1, 2021, when a state law that legalized personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect.

The panel approved some technical changes before passing the legislation.

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Meanwhile, Virginia lawmakers have introduced other marijuana-related legislation for the 2026 session, among other things. allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals.

Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has published a new defining workplace protections for cannabis users.

Mike Latimer’s photo.