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State Regulations

Is Cannabis Legal in Virginia?

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Cannabis is legal in Virginia for both medical and recreational use. Virginia passed legislation that allowed doctors to recommend marijuana for the treatment of glaucoma as well as the side effects caused by chemotherapy 1979. In 1997, repeal of the medical cannabis law seemed certain but did not actually happen. For a long time it seemed as though the medical cannabis law was not functioning due to the prescriptions being disallowed by federal law by reason of cannabis being a Controlled Substance as a Schedule I controlled substance with no accepted medical use.

Senate Bill 1235 and House Bill 1445 were signed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in March 2015 in the defense against a cannabidiol oil (CBD oil) and THC-A oil possession charge for patients holding a doctor's recommendation, especially in the treatment of epilepsy. This bill had passed with a 37-1 vote in Virginia's Senate that February.

In the Virginia State Board of Pharmacy in September 2018 approved the applications by five companies for the opening of medical cannabis dispensaries throughout the Commonwealth. By April 2019, 251 out of the 35,404 licensed doctors in Virginia were registered with the state in order to write medical marijuana recommendations.

Virginia is the only state that does not list qualifying conditions but instead leaves it to the discretion of the practitioner to determine whether their patients will benefit from the use of medical marijuana.

However, patients suffering from the following conditions stand a chance of approval for MMJ:

  • Cancer
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • HIV / AIDS
  • Crohn’s disease
  • PTSD
  • Chronic pain for which opioids, as well as other pain treatments, have not worked.

Decriminalization (2020): Possession of amounts less than 1 oz. (28g) was decriminalized starting July 1, 2020, and downgraded to a civil offense attracting a $25 fine. This was one year before personal use became legalized in Virginia.

Effective July 1, 2021, Marijuana was legalized for personal use in the state of Virginia.  Though not a single Republican in either house voted in favor of the marijuana bill, it still managed to receive a lot of support. Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize recreational cannabis.

Under the law:

  • Adults of age 21 years and over can possess not more than 1 ounce (28 g) of cannabis.
  • It is legal to cultivate not more than four cannabis plants per household.
  • It is within the law to share cannabis between adults as long as there is no commercial consideration.

Lydia K. (Bsc. RN) is a cannabis writer, which, considering where you’re reading this, makes perfect sense. Currently, she is a regular writer for Mace Media. In the past, she has written for MyBud, RX Leaf & Dine Magazine (Canada), CBDShopy (UK) and Cannavalate & Pharmadiol (Australia). She is best known for writing epic news articles and medical pieces. Occasionally, she deviates from news and science and creates humorous articles. And boy doesn't she love that! She equally enjoys ice cream, as should all right-thinking people.