Virginia Medical Marijuana Card Legislation
In 1979 Virginia passed a law stipulating that a person would not be prosecuted for possession of marijuana if the individual had a valid prescription from a doctor for using marijuana to treat symptoms of glaucoma or chemotherapy. Due to the legality regarding the definition of “prescribe”, this applies only to FDA-regulated substances.
In 2017, the General Assembly approved a bill allowing a limited amount of marijuana cultivation and dispensation with access to CBD or THC-A oil for patients diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. In 2018, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill to expand access to medical marijuana to all patients whose physician would recommend medical marijuana as a benefit to the patient.
In 2019, nurse practitioners and physician assistants could issue written marijuana certifications for patients to use medical marijuana extracts, and that each dose could contain a maximum of 10 milligrams of THC.
In April 2021, Virginia passed Senate Bill 1406 and House Bill 2312 legalizing marijuana for adult-use. This legalized possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and cultivation of marijuana of up to 4 plants per household which started on July 1st, 2021. Other portions of the bill will go into effect in 2024, which includes retail sales as the Cannabis Control Authority will need time to create the system for regulating and overseeing sales, cultivation, manufacturing, distribution of marijuana.
Virginia Medical Marijuana Card, Cultivation & Possession Laws
Only registered medical marijuana patients of Virginia can possess marijuana, and even then, registered patients must only carry a 90-day supply of medical marijuana. Possession of 1 ounce of cannabis has been decriminalized, meaning that the penalty is $25.