Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have established a retail framework for the recreational sale of cannabis.
Her veto comes after amendments she made to the legislation were rejected by the General Assembly during the April 22 reconvene session. She has vetoed 29 bills sent to her by the Democratic controlled General Assembly.
“As Virginia pursues a legal retail market, it is critical that we incorporate lessons learned by other states and ensure that our regulatory framework is fully prepared to provide strong oversight from day one. That includes clear enforcement authority and sufficient resources for compliance, testing, and inspections, and robust tools to crack down on bad actors who continue to profit from the illicit market,” Spanberger said in a statement. “I remain committed to working with members of the General Assembly, stakeholders, and law enforcement to get this right.”
State Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Henrico County, and Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax County, who patroned the bills in their respective chambers, said that the governor’s veto ignores the “reality that cannabis is already being sold everyday across Virginia” in an unregulated and illicit market. Both added that the consequences of the veto belong “to the Governor and Governor alone.”
“Once again, Virginia’s efforts to establish a safe, regulated and equitable adult-use cannabis marketplace has been halted despite years of work, public input and broad recognition that the status quo is failing Virginians,” Aird said in a statement. “The Governor’s decision leaves the Commonwealth exactly where we have been since 2021: with an unchecked illicit market, hurting our communities, harming our youth and putting adults at risk. Virginians deserve better than continued inaction veiled behind excuses about getting it right.”
Krizek, in a statement, echoed Aird and said the legislation reflected a “balanced and thoughtful approach shaped by the very people who will be impacted by and responsible for implementing it.”
“Five years ago, Virginia legalized cannabis in recognition that the War on Drugs has caused disproportionate harm to Black families and communities,” Krizek said. “The question now is whether Virginia will continue allowing an unregulated illegal market to thrive, or finally establish a safe, transparent system that protects consumers, keeps products away from children, and keeps our commitment to ending racially discriminatory marijuana policing in Virginia.”
Spanberger’s Republican predecessor, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, had vetoed similar legislation in 2024 and 2025.
Aird said she is unsure if she plans to reintroduce legislation to create a framework for recreational cannabis sales in 2027 in an interview on Tuesday.
“We do have the joint commission that oversees the transition of the commonwealth into a retail marketplace, and we’re going to spend the summer and fall having those conversations,” she said. “If the governor is adamant about some of the recommendations in her substitute, those things will be non-starters, and therefore it would be very difficult to see a bill in ‘27. Those are the things we need to spend the time discussing in the interim.”
Spanberger’s changes to the legislation included:
- Reducing the possession limit from 2.5 to 2 ounces;
- Reducing the number of retail stores from 350 to 200;
- Eliminating dedicated allocations for cannabis tax revenues (previously 40% of cannabis tax revenues directed to early childhood care and education, and 30% to support the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund);
- Eliminating detailed statutory licensing framework, shifting key decisions to regulatory action, which the lawmakers said would create confusion and a lack of clarity for prospective businesses;
- Eliminating support for Cannabis Impact Business Support Team, helping small businesses receive the support they need entering the marketplace; and
- Changes in criminal penalties.
The governor’s veto of the cannabis legislation further widens the funding gap between the House of Delegates biennial budget proposal and the state Senate proposal. The Senate had included around $71 million over the biennium in tax revenue from cannabis sales in its budget proposal.
But Secretary of Finance Mark Sickles argued that the cannabis excise tax would have only generated about $25 million in revenue in the first two years of legal retail sales during a presentation to the state Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
“That is not real money in our budget,” he told the committee.
Surovell responded by saying that the cannabis legislation, along with other bills that would have generated tax revenue, “all add up.”
“The governor had the opportunity to leave about $300 to $400, $500 million dollars in our budget but she’s already vetoed a good chunk of that out. …it all adds up and we need it all, especially in this economic environment,” he said.
