Legislation allowing recreational marijuana sales in Virginia heads to GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday that if approved by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin would allow recreational retail sales of marijuana to begin next year.

Under the bills, the state would start taking applications on Sept. 1 for cultivating, testing, processing and selling the drug in preparation for the market to open May 1, 2025, with products taxed at a rate of up to 11.625%. The legislation would create the state’s first retail market in a “responsible and thoughtful way,” said Del. Paul Krizek of Fairfax County, who carried the House version.

“And we’ve done so because it’s time to give Virginia’s $3 billion illicit market a run for its money. And it’s time to give Virginians access to a safe, tested and taxed product,” Krizek said on the House floor.

In 2021, Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize marijuana, adopting a policy change that allowed adults age 21 and up to possess and cultivate the drug. But because of political gridlock and policy differences since then, the state still hasn’t set up retail sales, which critics say is allowing illicit sales to continue to flourish.

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