Legislation to set up a regulated retail market for marijuana passed a Senate committee on Friday. Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed similar legislation last year.
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Legislation to set up a regulated retail market for marijuana passed a first General Assembly hurdle Friday on a party-line vote on essentially the identical bill that Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed last year.
The aim, its backers say, is to keep the issue in front of the public.
Senate Bill 970 is sponsored this year, as last, by state Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. The measure details over 82 single-spaced pages a system of seed to point of sale tracking of marijuana with the basic aim of keeping it out of the hands of young people.
The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee voted 8-7 to send the bill on to the full Senate, with all eight Democrats in favor and seven Republicans opposed. The Senate last year passed essentially the same bill on a 21-18 party-line vote; the House of Delegates on a 51-47 party-line split.
