Virginia Beach seeks clarity on cannabis regulations

VIRGINIA BEACH — After state legislators loosened regulations on marijuana last year, Virginia Seaside metropolis leaders try to get in entrance of any additional modifications to the regulation. They not too long ago established a hashish activity drive and help state laws on taxing hashish gross sales. Earlier this month, the council invited specialists to reply questions at a gathering.

Jeremy Preiss, chief of regulatory coverage for the Virginia Hashish Management Authority, stated on the assembly Virginia Seaside is already in a singular state of affairs on the subject of hashish.

“The place Virginia Seaside could differ from different communities is the size of what you’re dealing with,” Preiss instructed the council members. “You guys are a gorgeous vacation spot; lots of people come to the realm to chill out, have a great time, celebration.”

The Common Meeting legalized marijuana in Virginia in 2021, with sure limitations and situations. It may be used and shared by adults 21 and older in a residence however not in public. Adults 21 and older could develop as much as 4 crops per family, and the one authorized solution to buy marijuana in Virginia is thru medical retail gross sales.

The Common Meeting didn’t move proposed laws wanted to create a marijuana retail market, however it could revisit the difficulty within the 2023 session, which begins in January.

If retail gross sales are ultimately legalized in Virginia, communities throughout the state will resolve whether or not to permit shops and enact zoning legal guidelines to manage them.

Illicit hashish consumption and gross sales have been a supply of frustration for some Virginia Seaside tourism trade leaders, who’ve expressed considerations about marijuana odor wafting from lodge balconies and “pop-up” outlets unfolding on the Oceanfront. It’s additionally not unusual to see folks overtly smoking weed on the Boardwalk.

They’ve additionally questioned the potential affect legalized gross sales may have on a “family-friendly” resort space.

Councilman Man Tower introduced these considerations to Metropolis Council and urged the creation of the duty drive, which can overview state legal guidelines and collect public enter. It may additionally advise Metropolis Council on potential zoning legal guidelines to manage gross sales.

On the council assembly, Preiss addressed questions concerning the present state rules. His group controls the possession, sale and transportation of hashish within the commonwealth, amongst different duties. Councilman Michael Berlucchi requested Preiss concerning the legality of an current venue the place Berlucchi believes prospects smoke and share hashish.

“If folks need to have a bunch of individuals over to their home to get excessive, that’s permitted, however a public consumption lounge is off limits below the present regulation,” Preiss stated.

The dearth of a provision for authorized marijuana gross sales in state regulation has led to illicit exercise, Jason Blanchette, proprietor of Sage Kitchen in Virginia Seaside and president of the Virginia Hashish Affiliation, stated in a latest interview.

“We are able to’t put this genie again within the bottle,” Blanchette stated. “We have to determine find out how to regulate it.”

He and the affiliation’s members bend the ear of state legislators to totally legalize marijuana. They need to play a task within the trade’s future.

“We need to be certain that there’s a seat on the desk for Virginia farmers and Virginia small companies,” Blanchette stated.

[ Hampton Roads cannabis businesses branch out while awaiting legal retail sales, but future still hazy ]

In the meantime, authorized medical marijuana retail gross sales within the commonwealth are booming.

New York based-Columbia Care operates medical marijuana dispensaries in Hampton Roads. The corporate is certainly one of 4 processors within the state.

Greater than 45,000 Virginians are registered as medical hashish sufferers. In Hampton Roads, Columbia Care’s solely retailer in Virginia Seaside, Cannabist, serves 3,000 veterans, Ngiste Abebe, director of public coverage at Columbia Care, stated on the council assembly.

“I’ve seen amongst our sufferers how hashish will be life altering,” she stated. “I additionally assume we have to be very diligent about having accountable consumption and ensuring of us know each the dangers and advantages of the plant.”

On a latest weekday morning, about 10 sufferers lined up outdoors Cannibist on Birdneck Highway. On a median day, 200 to 300 folks store there, Columbia Care pharmacist Ray Hernandez stated.

Hernandez stated ache, nervousness and sleep issues are amongst a few of the situations sufferers have skilled to be able to obtain a medical certification by a licensed practitioner, which is required to enter the shop.

As soon as inside, sufferers can describe their signs and talk about the kind of aid they’re on the lookout for with the employees to be able to get the marijuana product finest fitted to them.

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Massive menus on the wall present a plethora of decisions from pre-rolled joints (two for $17) to gummies (12 for $50) to oils for vaping (0.5 grams for $50) and the normal bud of marijuana, additionally referred to as a “flower” (3.5 grams for $50). The merchandise aren’t coated by insurance coverage, however Cannibist affords reductions for qualifying sufferers.

Doses are capped at 10 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive substance present in hashish. The merchandise are lab examined by a 3rd celebration and accepted by a state board.

All of Cannabist’s merchandise are cultivated and manufactured in a facility in Portsmouth, the place each plant is tracked from seed to sale. Rooms contained in the 65,000-square-foot constructing are devoted to every stage of a marijuana plant’s progress cycle. Temperature, mild, air flow and vitamins are intently monitored by a employees of educated horticulturalists.

There’s further area within the constructing, too, “in preparation for going leisure,” Hernandez stated on a latest tour of the power.

For now, Columbia Care is cultivated just for these with a medical certification. However the strains outdoors the Cannabist shops are getting longer.

“This program, being the one means you may legally entry retail marijuana, is rising in leaps and bounds,” Preiss instructed Metropolis Council. “It’s the one recreation on the town.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com