A pre-recorded streaming video replay of the June 2021 webcast, Legal and Business Implications of Cannabis Legalization in Virginia.
Topics Covered
- Learn which parts of cannabis legalization are effective immediately, and which aspects are delayed pending additional legislative and regulatory action
- Know the immediate legal implications of legalized personal possession and home cultivation, including whether landlords may prohibit cultivation, what liability a property owner might assume, and how human resource directors may respond
- Examine the new, complex regulatory and permitting structure and how it is still evolving; success for clients in the years ahead requires an immediate understanding of the law and process
- Discover how the establishment of a new $1.2-billion industry will impact dozens of other areas of law and practice
- Understand how social equity is an important aspect of the law, and the direct requirements related to equity within the licensing and permitting process
- Examine the development of diversity, equity, and inclusion plans required for certain types of licensees, and legislation including some SWaM provisions important to understand
In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation to legalize cannabis in the Commonwealth. The final legislation legalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use beginning July 1, 2021, and establishes a new independent regulatory authority within state government responsible for establishing the commercial cannabis industry, issuing regulations for cultivation, wholesaling, and retail sale of marijuana.
Early estimates conservatively project the value of Virginia’s cannabis market at $1.2 billion or more, and this new industry will have broad ripple effects across a number of ancillary industries including banking, finance, insurance, construction, real estate, distribution, marketing and advertising, hospitality, agriculture, and more.
The legalization of cannabis also presents unique new challenges to businesses, employers, and property owners, all of whom will face questions about what is and is not allowed under the law. In the years to come, all areas of law, such as regulatory, criminal, employment, and more, will be affected as the General Assembly continues to further refine the application of the law.
Virginia’s new cannabis law also includes specific provisions to ensure social equity in the licensing and permitting process, requires certain licensees to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion plans, and gives the new cannabis authority broad power to implement policies and regulations related to small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses.