Virginia lawmakers are pushing back against Gov. Abigail Spanberger's proposed changes to cannabis legislation, saying the amendments would restore criminal penalties that disproportionately harmed Black and brown communities -- the same penalties the state eliminated years ago.
The Democratic governor proposed sweeping changes to HB 2279 and SB 1093 on Monday, bills that would have launched legal marijuana sales in Virginia by July 2026. The amendments delay retail sales further, recriminalize certain marijuana possession, and increase penalties for public consumption.
Del. Paul Krizek and Sen. Adam Ebbin, the bills' chief sponsors, issued a joint statement Tuesday calling the changes "a step backward for Virginia."
"These amendments undermine the equity-focused framework we worked for years to build," the lawmakers said.
The most contentious provision would eliminate decriminalization for anyone under 21. Under current law, possession of marijuana by someone under 21 results in a $25 civil fine. Spanberger's amendments would make it a misdemeanor punishable by a mandatory $500 fine or 50 hours of community service, plus an automatic six-month driver's license suspension in some cases.
For adults 21 and older, public consumption would jump from a $25 civil fine to a Class 4 misdemeanor, creating a permanent criminal record for an act that is currently decriminalized.
J.M. Pedini, development director at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and executive director of Virginia NORML, said the amendments would reverse progress Virginia made in addressing racial disparities in marijuana enforcement.
"Prior to decriminalization, we were arresting Black and brown people at a much higher rate than white people," Pedini said. "We already had established that it was a racist policy, and that's why we repealed it."
Pedini raised an additional concern about the new criminal code sections Spanberger's amendments would create. Under current law, many marijuana-related offenses can be sealed from public records, giving people a second chance. The new crimes may not be sealable.
"These new crimes would also not be sealable," Pedini said. "This would not just be undoing decriminalization -- it would be undoing larger components of criminal justice reform we passed in recent years."
Spanberger's amendments would prevent retail marijuana sales from beginning until after July 1, 2027 -- more than six years after Virginia legalized personal possession and home cultivation in 2021.
The delay continues a pattern that began under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who vetoed multiple attempts to launch legal sales during his term. Youngkin cited concerns about public safety and the impact on children, though advocates argued regulated sales would be safer than the current unregulated market.
Pedini said the continued delays have real consequences.
"Equally concerning is her continuation of Youngkin's delay of legal retail access, while simultaneously prolonging the availability of unregulated marijuana disguised as hemp in corner stores and smoke shops across Virginia," Pedini said.
The so-called "hemp loophole" allows stores to sell products containing Delta-8 THC and other intoxicating cannabinoids with little oversight. Advocates say a regulated marijuana market would provide safer, tested products and generate tax revenue for the state.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer whose family includes law enforcement members, has emphasized public safety throughout her early gubernatorial tenure. The cannabis amendments reflect that focus, with the governor's office framing the changes as necessary to protect children and communities.
But Pedini disputes the public safety argument.
"Despite Governor Spanberger's commitment to public safety, these amendments do not achieve her goals," Pedini said. "What they do is continue endangering Black, brown and young Virginians in communities across the Commonwealth."
The governor's decision to propose major changes at the final stage of the legislative process has also drawn criticism. Bill sponsors say the administration failed to engage earlier in the process, when lawmakers could have addressed concerns through negotiation rather than last-minute amendments.
The General Assembly will reconvene April 22 to vote on the governor's amendments. Lawmakers have three options: accept the changes, reject them and send the original bill back to Spanberger, or kill the legislation entirely.
If lawmakers reject the amendments, the bills would return to Spanberger's desk without her changes. She could then sign them, veto them, or allow them to become law without her signature.
Pedini said rejecting the amendments wouldn't necessarily mean another year of waiting.
"The next bill could get it done even sooner than this bill would have done it," Pedini said. "We could reach a compromise in the interim."
The procedural battle reflects deeper tensions within Virginia's Democratic Party over how quickly to move on cannabis reform and how to balance equity concerns with public safety arguments.
For Roanoke and Southwest Virginia residents, the outcome will determine when -- and under what conditions -- legal marijuana sales finally arrive. The region has seen limited economic development opportunities in recent years, and some local officials had hoped regulated cannabis sales could provide new business opportunities and tax revenue.
The April 22 vote will determine whether Virginia moves forward with marijuana legalization or takes a step backward toward the criminalization policies lawmakers voted to leave behind five years ago.