[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

This week, we see that Virginia is not moving forward on setting up an adult-use market. On the federal level, we have an update on the VA Medical Cannabis Act – will it become part of the SAFE Plus Act? And finally, Rhode Island may allow Fido or Fluffy to get a CBD prescription.

VIRGINIA

Virginia was the first Southern state to legalize adult-use marijuana, passing the legislation in 2021. Since then, the groundbreaking has stopped. The devil is in the details when it comes to forming a system to sell cannabis, and progress has been slow. A House committee recently defeated a bill that would have allowed sales through existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin in 2024, and hopes for progress have dimmed.

We are kind of dragging our feet on establishing a retail market that could provide hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, could provide a tested product for adults and could be kept out of the hands of children.

State Senator Adam Ebbin (D), bill sponsor

SAFE+VETS?

Late last week, a cannabis bill was reported favorably by a Senate committee, for the first time ever. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) would like to see his bill folded into the SAFE Plus bill that’s been the subject of several discussions recently.

AND FINALLY

Lawmakers in Rhode Island introduced a bill this week that would allow CBD products for pets if prescribed by a licensed veterinarian. There’s anecdotal evidence that CBD can be helpful for animals, but also concern on the part of vets that it could be harmful, if not used carefully.

Stay safe and be well everyone – we’ll see you next week!