Virginia Del. Steve Heretick (D-Portsmouth) has reintroduced a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, according to a local WAVY report.
Heretick has proposed legislation related to decriminalization and legalization in the past, and this year’s bill would legalize the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis in the state, WAVY reported.
The bill proposes licensing cultivation and retail businesses in an adult-use market, and would legalize home cultivation, according to the news outlet.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has announced his support for legalization, and signed a decriminalization bill into law last spring to lessen penalties for the possession of one ounce or less of cannabis.
A recent Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study on the potential impacts of legalization in the state revealed that an adult-use market could generate more than $300 million in annual tax revenues by the fifth year of the program, as well as create more than 11,000 jobs in the state.
