Virgina Bill For Legalization PASSED!!!

On Saturday February 28th 2021 lawmakers in Virginia approved a bill that would legalize cannabis for recreational purposes for adults making Virginia the first Southern State to this by vote. This would bring Virginia into the the legalization fold with 15 other states and the District of Columbia who have also made the jump to legalization. “It’s been a lot of work to get here, but I would say that we’re on the path to an equitable law allowing responsible adults to use cannabis,” said State Sen. Adam Ebbin. The signing into law still needs to done by Gov. Ralph Northam who is a supporter of the movement.

 This bill was passed 48-43 and the Senate approved it 20-19. No  Republican voted for this in either chamber. This bill, would legalize possession of an ounce of cannabis or less by those 21 or older and calls for regulation of the Cannabis market.

This all came about after weeks of long negotiations in the Virginia General Assembly. Now the plan to have legalization happen by 2024 is in motion.

Though now there is some uncertainty that remains around home growing, legal sales, criminal penalties and more which will be hashed out in future sessions.

This passing of legislation is another big win for cannabis and continues the streak of wins we saw after the election last November and I expect we will start seeing this more frequently as states start finally seeing that the sky does not fall when cannabis is legalized.