Virginia holds the current distinction of being the only state in the U.S. to have adopted an adult-use cannabis legalization measure, but not to have adopted legal recreational cannabis sales as part of its legalization model. When Vermont initially adopted legalization in 2018, it also did not initially permit adult-use sales, but later approved a separate measure to allow legal recreational sales.
Lawmakers in Virginia adopted adult-use legalization in 2021, making it the 17th state to legalize at the time. Policymakers in Virginia’s General Assembly passed separate measures in 2024 and 2025 to legalize sales, only for the current Virginia Governor, Glenn Youngkin, to veto both measures.
Fortunately for cannabis policy modernization efforts in Virginia, Governor Youngkin has termed out, creating the potential for the next Governor to allow a legal sales measure to proceed. Only time will tell if that happens, with the next Virginia gubernatorial election scheduled for November 5, 2025.
Virginia cannabis market projections vary. According to the MJBizFactbook, “adult-use marijuana sales in Virginia could reach $490 million in a regulated market’s first year, with a projected increase to $1 billion in the third year.” The same source estimates that total medical cannabis sales will reach about $59 million by the end of this year.
Recent media coverage by the Virginia Mercury included projections for industry tax revenues, ranging from $61.5 million to $94 million annually in the first year following enactment, and increasing to $254 million annually by the fifth year.
“New Frontier Data, which studies cannabis, last year estimated the figure at $2.4 billion. Earlier this year, former Republican Del. Greg Habeeb, who represents the Virginia Cannabis Association, upped that figure to $3 billion.” Cardinal News previously reported on Virginia’s potential industry.
An analysis by the Marijuana Policy Project, published in May 2025, found that since the launch of taxed and regulated adult-use cannabis in Colorado in January 2014, legal states had collectively generated more than $24.7 billion in tax revenue from recreational cannabis sales.
A recent market analysis and report by Vangst Staffing and Whitney Economics determined that the legal cannabis industry in the United States sold roughly $30.1 billion worth of cannabis products in 2024. The report also found that the legal U.S. industry supports 425,000 full-time jobs.