RICHMOND — State budget legislation enacted on June 29, 2026, will permit up to 350 licensed cannabis retail establishments to open across Virginia starting July 1, 2027. This legislation legalizes regulated recreational sales of marijuana for adults aged 21 and older.

State regulators are scheduled to begin accepting applications for retail licenses on February 1, 2027. The new law also increases the state possession limit for marijuana from 1 ounce to 2 ounces and continues to permit home cultivation of a small number of plants.

Virginia will implement an excise tax on cannabis in addition to its existing sales tax. Legislative budget documents project that this tax structure will generate approximately $51 million in revenue for the state during the program's initial year. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.

Virginia first legalized adult possession of marijuana in 2021, becoming the first Southern state to do so. However, the state lacked a regulated retail market for recreational sales. State Senator Lashrecse Aird addressed this, stating, "Virginia legalized adult possession years ago, but without a regulated retail market, we left the illicit market to fill the gap."

Aird added that the new framework offers a more effective approach. "This compromise gives us a smarter and safer path forward — one that protects consumers, keeps products tested and accurately labeled, and creates a legal marketplace that is affordable and accessible enough to actually compete," she said. Grassroots organizer Chelsea Higgs Wise also commented on the previous regulations. Wise stated, "Adults that want to reasonably consume have been confused, rightfully so."

The passage of this legislation follows a period of shifting political control in Virginia. Partisan control of the Virginia government changed in November 2021. In 2024, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that aimed to establish recreational retail sales. Governor Abigail Spanberger assumed office in January 2026.