Virginia is one signature away from finally launching a legal recreational marijuana market.

The House of Delegates voted today to approve a budget package that includes language authorizing licensed adult-use marijuana sales, sending the measure to Governor Abigail Spanberger. The Senate passed the same package earlier in the day, meaning the proposal has now cleared the Legislature.

Spanberger has already said she will sign the budget, which would allow the state’s first licensed recreational marijuana stores to open July 1, 2027.

The vote marks a major turning point for Virginia, which legalized marijuana possession for adults in 2021 but never created a system for legal sales. Since then, those 21 and older have been allowed to possess and grow cannabis, but they have had no legal way to buy it from a regulated adult-use retailer.

The new framework places regulation of the market under the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. The agency would begin accepting applications on February 1, 2027, ahead of the planned July launch. The budget allows for up to 350 retail licenses, with the market opening in phases. It also includes provisions meant to give smaller operators, microbusinesses and entrepreneurs a meaningful chance to participate.

For consumers, the measure would make several changes to state law. The legal possession limit would rise from one ounce to two ounces, and adults would be allowed to buy up to two ounces in a single transaction from licensed stores.

The proposal also includes rules aimed at preventing youth access and limiting marketing that could appeal to children. Marijuana products would need to use child-resistant packaging, retailers would face penalties for failing to verify age, and products shaped like animals, fruits, vehicles or humans would be prohibited.

Recreational marijuana would initially carry a 6% state tax, rising to 8% after July 1, 2029. Local governments could add their own cannabis tax of between 1% and 3.5%, in addition to the standard retail sales and use tax.

Money generated by the market would be directed toward education, behavioral health services, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, public health programs and the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund.

If signed as expected, the budget will end years of uncertainty surrounding Virginia’s marijuana laws and put the state on a path to become the 24th legal recreational cannabis market in the United States.