Marijuana possession legal in Virginia, but still nowhere to purchase it

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - While you can possess and smoke limited amounts of marijuana in Virginia, there’s still nowhere you can buy it.

This creates a waiting period between when legal possession began and when there will be business and commercialization of marijuana. The way the Virginia legislation is written, commercialization isn’t expected until 2024.

“I would anticipate there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the state government to move that date up, and the question is how quickly can we get there and still think through all the issues that people think are important to Virginians,” Paul Seaborn with University of Virginia McIntire School said.

Some of those important issues will be decisions based on equity, the amount of business permits, and location of commercialization.