Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine has been covering Virginia’s evolving hemp and cannabis regulations, including proposed changes to THC limits and retail licensing. The following is a guest opinion from a Virginia hemp business owner directly affected by SB 542.
By Barbara Biddle
Eight years ago, I made a leap of faith. I had no investors, no family money, no safety net. Just a belief that if I built something legal, something real, something I could stand behind, I would have a fair chance to succeed.
So I opened a hemp retail shop. I followed every rule Virginia gave me. I reinvested everything back into the business. I put my kids to bed and then stayed up late doing inventory. I did paper work early before they woke up. Slowly, painstakingly, I built something stable, not just income, but a foundation for my family’s future.
Then Virginia’s legislature met on the final night of the 2026 session and changed everything overnight.
A provision buried in SB 542 imposes a 2mg THC limit per package, a threshold so low it makes the majority of products I legally sell effectively illegal starting July 2026. The replacement market doesn’t open until 2027. There is no bridge. There is no transition plan. There is just a cliff.
I know what falling off that cliff looks like. My parents lost everything in the 2008 housing crash when I was a teenager. I watched stability disappear overnight the house, the security, my parents’ hope. I spent years rebuilding from that. That experience never leaves you. And now I am terrified that my children are about to inherit that same story.
The application process being offered as a “pathway forward” is not built for someone like me. It is built for people with deep pockets and large legal teams, people who can submit multiple applications and create shell companies to improve their odds. I have one business. One shot. And a very real chance of losing everything I have built over eight years.
She’s passionate about the benefits of CBD and is deeply motivated by helping others.
But this is not just about me. My customers, people I know by name, people I see regularly, will lose access to products they rely on for real relief after years of searching for something that actually worked. I offer samples. I offer refunds when something doesn’t work. I know their names and their needs and the exact formulas that help them. Without businesses like mine, they will be pushed toward higher prices or unsafe, unregulated options. And here is what most people don’t understand, one ingredient change can be the difference between genuine relief and a waste of money. It is not as simple as CBD or THC content. When someone finally finds something that works after years of suffering, that product cannot simply be replaced.
The very people this law claims to protect will be left with fewer choices, worse options, and the possibility of criminal exposure for possessing and selling products that were legal last month.
Governor Spanberger has until April 13 to use her amendatory authority to fix the hemp provisions in SB 542 before signing. That is one week away. She does not need to veto the entire bill; she can make a targeted fix that preserves businesses like mine while allowing the retail cannabis market to launch as planned. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for the chance to survive a transition we were never warned about.
I tried my best to follow the rules, change after change.. I built something real for my family.
I am asking the Governor to ensure this counts.
Barbara Biddle is a hemp retail business owner and mother based in Northern Virginia.
Photo courtesy of Barbara Biddle.
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