ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Virginia is considering a number of major policy changes next year as the state faces a shift in power.

One item is a retail cannabis market.

Marijuana is legal to possess, but there is no way to recreationally buy or sell the products.

The democratic-controlled General Assembly has passed a measure the last two years to create a retail market, but it has been vetoed both times by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Since early summer, a General Assembly Commission has held a number of hearings to decide how to roll out a retail market.

On Tuesday, the group made changes to its proposal.

“This bill hopefully has a little for everybody. It builds a new market that supports hundreds of small businesses and strengthens Virginia agriculture, reduces the racial disparities created by the prohibition of marijuana and most importantly protects public safety and health,” said Delegate Paul Krizek.

Krizek serves as the Joint Commission Chair and said they are still working to get a bill passed that would create the cannabis retail market by November 1, 2026.

“A regulated retail market will replace the illicit market because it includes product testing, accurate labeling, consumer education, age verified purchases and sales and will be using the revenue to support youth focus prevention and education efforts,” Krizek added.

Local legislatures in our hometowns weighed in on the topic, including Democratic Delegate-Elect Lily Franklin who is backing the bill.

“A recreational marijuana retail market is great for both this region and across Virginia. We’ll be able to bring in a lot of tax dollars from that,” Franklin said. “We can also help rebuild local industries around farming and agriculture in a way we haven’t seen before.”

Others, like Republican senator Bill Stanley, feel the bill should be reconsidered.

“I think recreational marijuana is a real problem for us. I think it’s a danger. I think we’ve made the wrong move in legalizing it and the marketplace is just going to allow it to get in the hands of minors. This is going to be a real problem for us, and we should turn back from recreational marijuana being legalized,” Stanley said.

The biggest change to the bill includes prohibiting localities to opt-out.

However, it will still provide mandatory buffers between retailers and sensitive locations and allow local governments to continue having full zoning authority control over the local sales tax revenue.

Krizek said this will help manage community concerns.

“By allowing opting-out, what we’re really doing is allowing opting-in to the illicit market. So, there will not be any dry counties like in the days of alcohol where we had some counties were dry counties, we’re not going to have that with this roll-out,” Krizek closed.

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