The War on Hemp: Virginia Bill 903 Passes with Governors Amendments
Another battle was fought at the legislature yesterday in Virginia. I'm not sure who the winner is, but the loser is definitely the patients and local community
The slow progress of cannabis law reform in Virginia has had a significant impact on the people, particularly those who rely on cannabis for medical purposes such as seizures, autism, and cancer.
While medical marijuana has been legalized since 2021, access remains extremely limited, and many patients are not able to afford the medication they need due to extremely high prices set by these dispensaries.
Without a retail sale structure in place, the only way to access the medicine is pay the asking price. This is called a monopoly and does not benefit the public or communities at all. The “medicine” they say they are selling is mediocre, but beggars can’t be choosers right?
Why would the dispensaries try harder to improve when they can just focus on their bottom line and profit… there’s no competition in Virginia after all.
“The dispensaries in Richmond (gLeaf) and Portsmouth set sales records for any dispensary in the history of the company on the first day they sold smokable marijuana flower in September. That’s a very big deal. That’s an indication of how strong the patient demand is there”- CEO Columbia Care interview here
If at first you don’t succeed..try try again…
And that is exactly what I have witnessed these Multi State Operators (MSO for short) do with the elected officials and the bills they want passed here in Virginia.
For the past 2 sessions I have watched the opportunity for local entrepreneurs to get into the booming industry continue to remain out of reach. I’ve also seen the “Big Cannabis” companies such as Columbia Care, continue to dominate.
This has lead to what I have only recently learned about and began to investigate. There is a full on war between the hemp industry of Virginia, (aka small, local, rural farmers and businesses in the community), and these out of state, medical marijuana, multi state corporations that can afford to pay to play with the politicians in charge.
Caught in the center of every battle, with the most to lose, are the patients and the people that have peacefully used this plant to better their lives and live pain free.
“I have never seen a more “Profits over People” mentality than in this Virginia market.” - Tara Eveland, 21 year cannabis activist
Governor Youngkins Amendments to SB903
According to the Governors spokeswoman Macaulay Porter, the following were added to the bill and sent back to the senate for vote today, April 12th, 2023. According to the governors spokeswoman Macaulay Porter, the amendments include, and are meant to do the following:
-Remove the “bittering agent requirement” that was on all topicals
-Allows the 2-milligram THC cap to be exceeded if a product meets a 25:1 CBD to THC ratio.
-Requires CBD retailers to register with the state enforcement agency to sell any consumable hemp-derived product. (this will include EVERY SINGLE GROCERY STORE, ULTAS, WALMARTS, Petcos, so so many national big retailers alone) This is either a good play for state funds through fees/requirements, or it’s in hopes of putting many people out of business completely
-Adds NEW CRIMES and takes the cannabis legalization effort back 3 steps in the Commonwealth
Looking to the future
The new rules won’t become law until July 1st, if I understand everything correctly.
I have way more to write on this story and an entire series to release on the topic, but in order to get this published in a timely manner to address many questions, I’m ending this post with this vote count. Remember the names of your representatives, election season is just around the corner!***