RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said Thursday that he had vetoed bills that would have established a state-regulated marketplace for recreational marijuana, saying the legislation “endangers Virginians’ health and safety.”
Passed on largely party-line votes by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, the identical House of Delegates and Senate bills would have set commercial standards and licensing requirements for large and small retailers to sell cannabis products. Virginia legalized the possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana three years ago but never settled on a mechanism to allow legal sales.
“States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and [adolescents’] health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue,” Youngkin wrote in his veto statement. He added that the legislation “does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
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