A commission of Virginia lawmakers is studying the creation of a legal framework to allow the sales of recreational marijuana. Legislation filed in the upcoming 2026 General Assembly session would be the latest of a series of attempts to launch a market in recent years. (BizSense file)

With a new General Assembly session just a few months away and a new governor taking office in January, state lawmakers and the local hemp industry are optimistic that 2026 might finally be the year Virginia gets a fully legalized recreational marijuana market.

A General Assembly commission established to oversee the potential creation of the market held its first meetings this summer. The group is studying the topic and hearing from policy experts to help craft what could be the last in a series of bills in recent years that have sought to kick off the retail pot market after the legalization of recreational use in 2021.

Del. Paul Krizek, chairman of the bipartisan commission, said in an interview that legislation expected to be introduced in 2026 would be informed by the work of prior years, and that he was bullish lawmakers would be able to juggle the myriad considerations that go into setting the stage for a successful industry.

“It’s like doing a paper for school. The longer you have, the better you can make it. We’re taking advantage of this time,” Krizek said. “I’m optimistic we’re going to get to a good place.”

Paul Krizek

The commission is convening again Oct. 6, and plans to hear presentations about the licensing of cannabis businesses as well as learn how other states have handled the transition from strictly medical markets, which Virginia has, to the implementation of recreational sales and other topics, according to a meeting agenda.

Krizek said at this early stage, commission members are considering legislation that would allow 350 recreational dispensary licenses, limit cultivation by number of plants instead of canopy square footage, and permit localities to hold referendums to opt out of the market and thereby prohibit recreational dispensaries in their jurisdictions.

Krizek said if his fellow Democrat and gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger wins in November, he envisions a good chance a retail market bill would be signed into law and finally set the stage for legal recreational pot sales after similar bills were struck down by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto pen in 2025 and 2024.

“I feel a lot more sanguine than I did last year,” Krizek said.

So too are at least some local CBD company owners, who hope to be able to get in on the action and sell marijuana themselves in addition to their CBD products.

Chester Cannabis Co. co-owner Griffin Moon told BizSense he thinks it is likely that Spanberger, who has voiced support for retail pot sales, would be Virginia’s next governor and he is “more on the hopeful side” that legislation would pass in 2026 to launch the market.

But whether Chester Cannabis Co. jumps in depends on how accessible the market would be for small businesses, he said.

“The big if is how they do it,” said Moon, whose firm manufactures and sells gummy hemp edibles.

Moon said he hopes Virginia will take the cues from the legalized markets in Oregon or Colorado, versus using California as a model. The Golden State’s market, according to Moon, has been characterized by challenging regulations and high taxes and fees. He said a Virginia market along those lines would create a situation where well-financed companies would be able to operate more effectively than smaller outfits and push people toward operating in the black market.

“By the end, you’re not making any money. Only the people with a lot of money behind them already could be in the game,” Moon said. “Keep the bad actors out but don’t make it so expensive and difficult for people just trying to start a good business.”

Blake Bilger, who owns Cypress Hemp with stores in Powhatan as well as in Louisiana, shared similar concerns about the potential for Virginia’s market to be dominated by large companies.

“Many states that have gone medical or recreational have been lobbied so hard by MSO’s (multistate operators; typically huge corporations) that they’ve resulted in effective monopolies that bar all locals from having any ownership in the industry,” he said in an email.

With Youngkin’s term ending, Bilger likewise is feeling good about the prospects of a market launch, no matter if it is Spanberger or her Republican opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, who gets elected.

“I think it’s extremely likely – far more likely than ever – that a recreational retail marijuana market will be fully established. One of the sole reasons that has not come to fruition in the last few years is due to opposition from the current governor,” Bilger said. “I believe that ‘bottleneck’ is almost certain to disappear, regardless of which governor candidate is elected.”

Blake Bilger

Bilger said Cypress Hemp would want to participate in the Virginia recreational pot market but would look to pick its spot based on how the framework is approved.

“We have experience in every layer of the supply chain, so the details of how this new industry is structured and established will have a tremendous impact on if and how exactly we want to participate,” Bilger said.

His wish list for a Virginia market would be a minimum of 350 to 450 dispensary licenses, which would be around the number of ABC stores in the state, as well as a licensing process that considers the industry experience of applicants and that features low fees and other measures to ensure small businesses can profitably operate.

Even with an expansion into marijuana, Bilger said that Cypress, which was founded in 2017, would likely focus on the continued growth of its existing business selling hemp products, which include edibles, topicals and oils.

The potential launch of a retail cannabis market would come a couple years after a law that added regulations to the sales of hemp products, including a requirement that they have no more than 2 milligrams of total THC per package or a 25:1 ratio of CBD to the package’s total amount of THC. THC is the chemical in the cannabis plant that makes a user high. Marijuana and hemp are varieties of the cannabis plant, and the legal distinction is that marijuana plants possess more than 0.3% THC.

The hemp legislation was criticized by local business owners as it moved through the General Assembly and was blamed by some businesses for their decisions to close CBD stores after the law, which was intended to improve public safety, took effect.

Those regulations, which Youngkin signed into law in 2023, were held up as a cautionary tale by Cannabis Small Business Association representatives when they spoke to the newly formed General Assembly commission at an August hearing. LaTonya Warren, one of the trade group’s executive officers, said the law drove hemp growers and manufacturers to close or leave Virginia.

“The result wasn’t safety for consumers. It was lost businesses, lost jobs and lost revenue. Many of our homegrown hemp growers and processors moved out of state, where they are now thriving under friendlier laws. This is proof that regulation can make or break the industry,” Warren said.

The trade group recommended the creation of a startup fund for small businesses, as well as increased license caps and outdoor growing-area limits compared with previous legislation. It also advocated for low licensing fees and capital requirements that would allow existing CBD companies to expand into the new market.

“This is about creating a fair and competitive market, one where Virginia’s existing hemp-licensed businesses get a fair shot to participate, grow and compete,” Warren said.

Chester Cannabis Co. sells edibles in several varieties and hopes to expand its offerings to include recreational marijuana if the state government passes legislation to launch a market.

The cannabis commission was created this year and first met in July. At its meeting last month, the group heard from a policy expert from the National Conference of State Legislatures on how other states have approached marijuana taxation.

Key to the launch of a retail market is the sign-off of Virginia’s governor. When possession and consumption of marijuana was legalized by then-Gov. Ralph Northam in 2021, the legislation included a requirement that elements of it had to be reenacted to launch a retail market.

That second step is several years in the making. During his term, Youngkin consistently vetoed bills that came to his desk seeking to tee up the market, and some years legislation failed to even get that far.

Past unsuccessful attempts by legislators to launch a retail market have included varying approaches to the number of permits and the operation of business support programs, as well as safety standards and taxation. There has been a measure of bipartisan support in the General Assembly for the launch of a retail market, though it has seen more support from Democratic lawmakers.

With Youngkin’s term coming to an end and a race for the governorship underway, proponents could have a more receptive resident of the Executive Mansion soon.

Spanberger has expressed support for a legalized recreational pot market. In a prepared statement provided to BizSense, Spanberger said she would support a market that was accessible to small businesses, dealt in products safe for consumers and generated tax revenue that could support schools.

“I look forward to working with leaders in the General Assembly to find a path forward to creating a legalized retail market for cannabis that both prioritizes public safety and grows Virginia’s economy,” Spanberger said.

The media team for Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate for governor, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Earle-Sears has in the past several years made public comments that suggested she wouldn’t be supportive of a retail market rollout, trade publication Marijuana Moment recently reported.

Currently in Virginia, only the several state-sanctioned medical marijuana companies are able to sell pot legally. The Richmond-area operator is Cannabist, which operates dispensaries under its own name and the gLeaf brand.