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Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the Virginia legislature made progress on a retail market bill. New York figured out a solution to its proximity problem. The New York Times published an OpEd critical of cannabis legalization, and there was just a bit of blowback from the industry. And finally, an Arizona lawmaker introduced a bill to deal with cannabis odor.
VIRGINIA
Elections have consequences, as President Obama once said, and nowhere is the truth of that adage more on display than in Virginia. As regular readers know, the previous governor, Glenn Youngkin (R) was strongly opposed to cannabis legalization, and vetoed more than one bill to set up a retail market. But 2025 brought a new face to the governor's mansion, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has openly called for legal sales. Letting no grass grow under their feet, the legislature has passed two bills: one in the House and one in the Senate. For the first time, The Week in Weed predicts that a bill will go to the Governor's desk and will be signed. We'll let you know how that works out.
NEW YORK
Many jurisdictions have laws governing how far a cannabis business must be from schools. New York is no exception. You'd think that sort of thing would be pretty straightforward: you set a distance and cannabis dispensaries open up accordingly. Well, nothing involving cannabis in New York has been straightforward. When the distances were originally set, they were based on the school's front door. But apparently, the law mandates that the distance be measured from the edge of the school property. And that can be a significant distance. See our post from last August for all the gritty details. Happily for dispensary owners, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) recently signed a new law that allows for an entrance-to-entrance measurement. And there was much rejoicing.
NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE
Earlier this month, the New York Times published an opinion piece (subscription required) that was not wholeheartedly supportive of adult-use (or even medical) legalization. This quote pretty much sums it up:
Much as the United States previously went too far in banning pot, it has recently gone too far in accepting and even promoting its use.
Apparently, there's a lot of overlap between people who read the New York Times and people in the cannabis industry. And those people are not happy. High Times was not amused. Marijuana Business Daily had a critical guest column. NORML offered a few notes in a letter to the editor.
AND FINALLY
One of the downsides to marijuana legalization that is often mentioned is the haze of cannabis smoke that results from widespread use. Basically, many people don't like the smell. A state Senator in Arizona has decided to do more than complain. Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R) recently introduced a bill that would criminalize "excessive" amount of marijuana smoke. Jail time could be involved, even for use on one's own private property. It's been said that "good fences make good neighbors." Maybe good ventilation does too.
Be well everyone – we'll see you next week.
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