Hemp THC gummies.
Virginia will gain new legal tools to target businesses selling illegal high-THC hemp and other unlicensed THC products beginning November 1, when two provisions of a marijuana and hemp enforcement law take effect.
Under Senate Bill 543, which was signed into law April 22, selling products intended for oral consumption or inhalation that exceed Virginia’s legal THC limits will become actionable under both the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The provisions take effect November 1.
The changes apply to products containing more than 0.3% total THC or more than two milligrams of total THC per package when their sale is not otherwise authorized under the state’s Cannabis Control Act.
Virginia already prohibits such products from being sold as hemp products. Beginning November 1, however, the state will have additional ways to pursue businesses that continue selling them.
One provision adds illegal THC sales to the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act. Violators can face a civil penalty of at least $10,957 and up to $21,916, with those amounts automatically adjusted alongside federal False Claims Act penalties. The law also allows recovery of three times any damages sustained by the commonwealth, along with attorney fees and litigation costs.
The act allows the Virginia attorney general to investigate suspected violations and bring civil actions. Virginia law also allows private individuals to file certain actions under the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act on behalf of themselves and the commonwealth, with the state given an opportunity to intervene.
A second provision adds the illegal sale of the products to the list of prohibited practices under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
That change gives state and local legal officials the ability to seek court orders stopping violations. Virginia’s Consumer Protection Act also generally allows people who suffer a loss as a result of a prohibited practice to seek damages.
The November 1 provisions are part of a broader enforcement package enacted earlier this year. SB 543 was approved April 22 after lawmakers accepted amendments recommended by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Those amendments specifically delayed the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act and Consumer Protection Act provisions until November 1.
Other portions of the law have already taken effect, expanding the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority’s ability to act against unlicensed marijuana and hemp businesses, issue cease-and-desist orders and impose civil penalties.
Virginia separately tightened its hemp rules August 15 by eliminating a previous exemption that allowed products containing more than two milligrams of THC per package if they contained at least 25 times as much CBD as THC. Under current law, hemp products sold in the state generally cannot exceed 0.3% total THC or two milligrams of total THC per package.
SB 543 also requires state officials to convene a work group examining illicit cannabis sales and recommending additional enforcement measures focused on untested and unregulated products.
