Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have allowed Virginia to (finally) start legal recreational cannabis sales in 2027.
Spanberger's veto is another setback for the Virginia Democrats who prioritized the effort and were banking on her support after years of Republican vetoes — and her pledge to support the measure.
General Assembly Democrats agreed on legislation to set up a retail weed marketplace that passed on a nearly party-line vote on the last day of the legislative session in March. Spanberger later rewrote the bill with changes that lawmakers said they couldn't accept.
The Democrat-led Legislature chose not to consider Spanberger's version, which forced the governor to either sign the bill that lawmakers sent her, veto the long-desired retail market or quietly allow it to become law without her signature after 30 days.
Four days before her deadline to act, Spanberger vetoed the bill — prolonging Virginia's yearslong stay in marijuana purgatory.
In her veto statement, Spanberger said she shares legislators' goal of establishing a safe and well-regulated legal cannabis market.
"Virginians deserve a system that replaces the illicit cannabis market with one that prioritizes our children's health and safety, public safety, product integrity, and accountability," she said.
Spanberger said she's "committed to working with members of the General Assembly, stakeholders, and law enforcement to get this right."
Now, legislators will have to wait until next year's session to again pass a cannabis market framework that Spanberger might support. If that happens, the market likely won't start in 2027.
Del. Paul Krizek (D–Fairfax) and state Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D–Henrico) carried the cannabis market legislation during the 2026 legislative session.
In their own statement, they said the veto leaves Virginia with an unchecked illegal market and "ignores the reality that cannabis is already being sold everyday across Virginia."
"Virginians deserve better than continued inaction veiled behind excuses about getting it right," they said.
Since July 2021, people 21 and over have been allowed to possess and use cannabis for recreational use without a legal way to buy it. Democrats have tried to set up a marketplace since then, but their efforts were blocked by Republicans.
The GOP held a majority in the House of Delegates from 2022 to 2024, allowing them to keep legislation to create a retail cannabis marketplace from ever reaching then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin's desk. Youngkin then vetoed the weed market bills that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly passed during his last two years in office.
With Youngkin's vetoes never in doubt, Krizek and other legislators behind the cannabis market proposal have been waiting for a fellow Democrat to take the governor's office. They said legalized sales could bring up to $400 million in tax revenue in its first five years.
This year, the final compromise approved by lawmakers eyed a Jan. 1, 2027, launch date for legal recreational cannabis sales for people 21 and over. It proposed allowing up to 350 cannabis shops in Virginia and increasing the possession limit from 1 ounce to 2.5 ounces.
Spanberger's substitute bill, filed the last day she could take action, proposed to open the cannabis marketplace on July 1, 2027. It also limited the number of retail locations to 200 until at least 2029 and lowered the possession limit to 2 ounces.
The governor also recommended sweeping changes to include harsher criminal penalties.
Among other new penalties for marijuana-related offenses, Spanberger's revision proposed turning the $25 fine for public consumption into a Class 4 misdemeanor, which comes with up to a $250 civil penalty.
Also, the governor's substitute called for making it a Class 2 felony — which comes with a sentence of 20 years to life — to illegally transport at least 50 pounds of cannabis "or equivalent amount of marijuana products" into Virginia to sell or distribute.
The regulatory restructure crossed a red line for Democrats who have worked on the effort for years — many of whom saw legalizing cannabis sales as a tool to mitigate the disproportionate enforcement of drug laws against minority communities.
Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of the Richmond-based nonprofit Marijuana Justice, called the veto "profoundly disappointing for Virginians who have spent years demanding a fair, safe, and legal cannabis market in our Commonwealth."
"For five years, Virginia has been stuck in a limbo where adults can legally possess, share and grow cannabis, but there is still no regulated way to purchase it," Wise said in a statement. "By rejecting the retail bill, the Governor has chosen to extend that chaos rather than move us toward a transparent, accountable retail system that centers public health, public safety and justice."
Wise raised concerns about the new criminal penalties and harsher enforcement measures that Spanberger put in her substitute bill, saying it would exacerbate "an already unjust landscape" and not address the racial disparity in weed arrests.
"These choices also carry a real price tag: every new offense and prosecution drives up system costs, drains taxpayer dollars, and pulls law enforcement away from real public safety needs," Wise said.
Copyright 2026 VPM
