Legalize cannabis sales in VA, but carefully [Video]

Bills to legalize and regulate marijuana retail sales are on the General Assembly’s docket again, after two years of failed bipartisan attempts. Though Virginia was the first Southern state to legalize and regulate medical marijuana for patients with a health care professional’s certification, we believe the General Assembly should be cautious and thoughtful in the considerations for legal retail sale of marijuana (cannabis) with evidence- and science-based language.

Foremost, cannabis should be legal for adults to purchase. Cannabis products should be regulated and quality tested to safeguard the public from contamination and adulteration that would lead to adverse health reactions. This is important in the context of the Farm Bill of 2018 that defined and legalized hemp, which opened marketplaces to uncontrolled, yet legal, cannabidiol (CBD).

Some products containing CBD have been exposed to be contaminated with dangerous chemicals, heavy metals and bacteria; some have been found to contain no CBD, and some have been found to be adulterated with significantly …