Cannabis Will Be Legal In Virginia Starting July 1st, 2021
Last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill that moves the date of legalization to July 1, 2021. In light of this change, we offer some insight on what legalization might look like and how it will affect you.
On April 21, 2021, Governor Ralph Northam signed House Bill No. 2312 and Senate Bill No. 1406, moving the date of recreational marijuana legalization in Virginia up to July 1, 2021. The effective date of July 1st, 2021 will allow all concerned entities, from law enforcement to private businesses, to have ample time to develop and implement policies and procedures for the eventuality of legalized marijuana in the Commonwealth.
In Virginia, adults over the age of 21 are now officially allowed to consume recreational cannabis. The substance of these measures allows for the recreational use of marijuana by adults who are at least 21 years old, permits the wholesale and retail sale of marijuana, and allows home growing and personal use of marijuana (up to four plants for personal use).
Even with the passage of House Bill 1862, some employers still have questions about workplace cannabis use. The following article answers some of those frequently asked questions about the new law.
Virginia’s House Bill 1473, nicknamed the House Smoking Bill by its opponents, bans smoking marijuana in places where smoking tobacco is prohibited. Other laws prohibiting public intoxication, driving under the influence and selling marijuana to minors also apply to the new measure. The governor has yet to veto the House Smoking Bill, but he says he’ll look into it more before signing it into law.
Employers in Virginia are prohibited from discriminating against employees who engage in legal activities on employer-owned property outside work hours. This includes medical marijuana use if an employee has a valid Virginia Department of Health card and is authorized to possess it on their person or in their vehicle when the employee is not at work. Because the new law covers cannabis oil products that contain THC, employers can no longer rely on a positive test for marijuana as grounds for discipline without first evaluating whether the positive result was related to protected medicinal use of cannabis oil.
