This bill eliminates the black market’s ability to find cannabis customers in Virginia that could potentially fund other criminal/terrorist operations. Establishing a legal cannabis market will bring significant tax money to our various localities which helps schools and infrastructures. As a disabled Army veteran, I value the therapeutic qualities of cannabis and hope the legal market will help many veterans in Virginia with PTSD. Not all of us live close to a medical dispensary or can afford the fees of a cannabis license. Please consider the positives and that Virginians overwhelmingly agree to create a recreational cannabis market. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Hello! Thank you for opening these up for public comment. As the Chair of Henrico Too Smart 2 Start Coalition, I am witnessing our youth try substances particularly cannabis at a younger age and use it with their parents knowledge, explicit permission, and even participation. Judging by vapes and opioids, we are on the verge of a cannabis epidemic unless we do not commercialize without a THC cap , restrict where it can be sold, make doctors choose between being retailers or physicians, and make sure safe guards are in place before we go further. Use by youth is up exponentially. Psychotic breaks, violence, and overdosing is not usually associated with marijuana. We are seeing it, because companies are making it extremely too potent and addictive. Moreover, we should look to Illinois and their failed attempts at making the retail market for persons over 21 diverse in terms of cannabis business owners. I am aware of these failures, because as the President of the Henrico NAACP, I have been in contact with the Illinois NAACP who supported decriminalization and legalization, but now regret how they let these things come to fruition. Simply we are not doing enough to protect our youth nor are we doing enough to ensure entering this marker for adults are equitable. Thank you for considering my comments. Terrell Pollard

I oppose this bill for several reasons. First of all, teen marijuana use is on the rise, and teens are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of this drug. They are much more likely to become addicted than adults and more susceptible to potential mental health consequences. So far, efforts to restrict the sale of THC products to people over the age of 21 have been extremely unsuccessful. Second, we have no way to enforce rules against drugged driving - HB 2384 has been killed, and that was our best hope. A recent study by the Cannabis Control Authority shows that most Virginians underestimate the risks of drugged driving. The rate of traffic collisions has risen immediately following marijuana legalization in states that have legalized it. I believe that traffic safety for non users is much more important than the desire of some people to get high. Third, hospitalizations of people of all ages due to marijuana or THC poisioning are on the rise. Our already overburdened health care system cannot handle this. Fourth, even though the ability of localities to opt out of sales is touted as a plus for this bill, it is quite difficult for them to opt out. If they vote on opting out and the vote fails, they are never given a chance to try again. This is completely unethical. Fifth, marijuana use is having a negative effect on education. Kids smoke in the bathrooms constantly, and they can't seem to learn effectively while high. It is especially critical to support education at a time when many youth blew off online learning during the covid-19 crisis and have gotten very far behind. Thank you for considering my position. Jennifer Price, PhD

Hello! Thank you for opening these up for public comment. As the Chair of Henrico Too Smart 2 Start Coalition, I am witnessing our youth try substances particularly cannabis at a younger age and use it with their parents knowledge, explicit permission, and even participation. Judging by vapes and opioids, we are on the verge of a cannabis epidemic unless we do not commercialize without a THC cap , restrict where it can be sold, make doctors choose between being retailers or physicians, and make sure safe guards are in place before we go further. Use by youth is up exponentially. Psychotic breaks, violence, and overdosing is not usually associated with marijuana. We are seeing it, because companies are making it extremely too potent and addictive. Moreover, we should look to Illinois and their failed attempts at making the retail market for persons over 21 diverse in terms of cannabis business owners. I am aware of these failures, because as the President of the Henrico NAACP, I have been in contact with the Illinois NAACP who supported decriminalization and legalization, but now regret how they let these things come to fruition. Simply we are not doing enough to protect our youth nor are we doing enough to ensure entering this marker for adults are equitable. Thank you for considering my comments. Terrell Pollard