HB176:

Cannabis control; vertical integration, social equity.

Bill Summary:

Cannabis control; vertical integration; social
equity. Requires the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis
Control Authority (the Board) to promulgate regulations that allow
to qualify as a social equity applicant, and therefore receive certain
licensing preferences and advantages, any applicant that has lived
or been domiciled for at least 12 months in the Commonwealth and
whose principal place of business is, and was prior to July 1, 2021,
located in a jurisdiction determined by the Board to be economically
distressed. The bill also provides that, if an act of assembly is
passed by the 2022 Session of the General Assembly that creates licenses
to allow for the cultivation, manufacture, wholesale, and retail
sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products in the Commonwealth,
any industrial hemp processor that meets certain registration, program,
and production requirements set forth in the bill shall be permitted
to possess one or any combination of such licenses upon payment of
a $1 million fee to the Board and submission of and compliance with
a diversity, equity, and inclusion plan.