CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - Lawmakers in Richmond passed amended legislation on Wednesday that would establish a framework for an adult-use recreational marijuana market in Virginia.
Possession and home cultivation have been legal but regulated in the Commonwealth since 2021. Former Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill to legalize recreational cannabis sales in two consecutive legislative sessions.
Opponents argue that pot would endanger public health and safety, while proponents believe the legalization could eventually generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue.
Karl Dampf, owner of Island Vape on Chincoteague, told WBOC on Wednesday that the usage is already there.
"With a regulated market like this, products are going to be safer where we don't have to worry about fentanyl being laced in things or you know people getting a hold of things that are actually way worse for you," Dampf said.
The amended bills passed by Virginia’s House and Senate on Wednesday more closely align than previous versions, but some differences remain.
HB642 would have legal sales start November 1, 2026. Its counterpart in the Senate, SB542, would open the market January 1, 2027.
“Families from other places, especially places where it's already legal, have been coming to my shop for the last four years,” Dampf said. “Not knowing it's not completely legal yet, kind of expecting to be able to buy those products."
Year-round Chincoteague residents have mixed opinions on whether a dispensary would be well-received on the island.
"It's a whole process getting things opened up with the town and everything,” Casey Shelton said. “People probably would struggle. They'd hit roadblocks along that route of opening a dispensary."
Governor Abigail Spanberger has indicated her support for legalized recreational marijuana sales in the Commonwealth of Virginia.