Category: News
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Battle of the Heavyweights: Spanberger v. Lucas
Once close allies, Spanberger’s proposed amendments blew a hole in the relationship, and the raid on Lucas made it permanent. Now they’re going head to head publicly. Here’s what you need to know. Virginia’s cannabis fight has been covered from every angle: the veto, the votes, the timeline, the people still waiting on resentencing hearings.…
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Virginia’s Resentencing Law Is Real. Automatic is Not.
Spanberger signed HB 26 and SB 62 the same week she vetoed the retailmarket. Here is what the law actually does, who it covers, and whypeople who should qualify are already at risk of being left behind. Virginia’s cannabis resentencing law is real and people will benefit fromit. HB 26 and SB 62, signed May…
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Virginia Has Been Lying to You About Cannabis for Five Years
Possession has been legal since 2021. You still cannot buy it anywhere regulated. That is not a coincidence. It is a policy outcome, and the people who engineered it just got raided by the FBI. Let me just say what everybody in the industry already knows and nobody in Richmond wants to say out loud:…
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An Olive Branch for Virginia Cannabis and Hemp
I don’t speak for everyone, but I can speak to the sentiments I have consistently heard from people across Virginia’s cannabis and hemp community. A lot of people are angry right now. Not simply because of policy disagreements, but because of how the veto support letter felt to many in the broader cannabis community. Leading…
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When “Small Business” Becomes a Corporate Shield Alcohol Retail Giants, Hemp Lobbying, and the Fight Over Virginia Cannabis
Virginia’s cannabis debate has taken an unexpected turn. A coalition presenting itself as defenders of “small business” recently sent a letter urging Governor Abigail Spanberger to veto the Commonwealth’s adult-use cannabis legislation. The letter framed itself as a plea for fairness, consumer safety, and protection for local hemp operators. But buried within that coalition is…
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The CSBA veto letter dissected and invalidated
I am going to dig in and explain everything the CSBA is saying as to why they supported the veto. Images of the full letter are at the bottom of this post. 1. “We urge a measured path that sustains a responsible federally legal hemp sector” Their Argument The hemp market is federally legal and…
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Regulation, Transition, and the Reality of Building a Cannabis Market in Virginia
Virginia’s cannabis debate has reached another difficult crossroads. Some hemp and CBD retailers, represented by groups like the Cannabis Small Business Association (CSBA), are calling for a veto of the current retail cannabis framework because of proposed THC limits that would reclassify many hemp products, that include THC, as regulated cannabis. Under the proposal, hemp…
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Virginia Cannabis Microbusiness Survival Guide: Chapter 2, Compliance
Compliance Is Not a Destination, It Is a Moving Target One of the biggest mistakes new cannabis businesses make is assuming that once they become compliant, they are finished. In reality, compliance in cannabis is constantly evolving, especially in a young market like Virginia. The businesses that survive long term are not always the ones…
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Fact-Checking the Cannabis Small Business Association
Recently, the “Cannabis Small Business Association” posted a reel making some bold claims about Virginia’s upcoming recreational cannabis legislation. Let’s go line by line, what did they say, what did they leave out, and why might they have framed it this way? “Virginia is about to hand over the cannabis industry to corporate giants, and…
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Virginia Cannabis Microbusiness Survival Guide
Preparing for Adult-Use Legalization, Market Compression, and Long-Term Success Editorial Update (May 2026): This guide has been updated to reflect the rejection of earlier legislative amendments that would have accelerated retail launch. The current projected start date for regulated adult-use sales is now January 1, 2027. All timelines below reflect this revised date. Virginia is now…
