With a major cannabis bill now awaiting Governor Abigail Spanberger’s decision, Virginia hemp retailers, farmers, and small business advocates are urging her to step in before it becomes law.
The Cannabis Small Business Association (CSBA) and a coalition of hemp businesses are calling on the governor to use her amendatory authority to revise key provisions of the bill before the April 13 deadline. Their requests are focused on preserving low-dose hemp products, creating a workable transition for existing businesses, and ensuring small operators have a viable path into the state’s emerging cannabis market.
At the center of the concern is a last-minute change to THC limits that businesses say could effectively dismantle much of Virginia’s current hemp industry.
Under Virginia’s existing framework, hemp products were capped at 2 milligrams of THC per package unless they met a 25:1 CBD-to-THC ratio. That exception allowed for higher THC levels in CBD-dominant, low-dose products, which helped shape much of what is currently sold in hemp shops across the state. The new bill eliminates that flexibility, replacing it with a strict 2 milligram THC cap per package.
According to CSBA, that shift would effectively remove most current hemp products from legal sale.
“No Transition Path, No Warning”
In a press release issued this week, CSBA says the changes were added late in the legislative process without public input or industry review.
“The legislation, passed in the final hours of the session, includes sweeping hemp policy changes that were never part of the original bill,” the organization stated, adding that more than 1,500 small businesses and independent farmers could be affected.
The group estimates Virginia’s hemp retail market at roughly $562 million annually, supporting a network of locally owned shops, processors, and farms across the state.
For many of those businesses, the concern isn’t just regulation. It’s timing. There is currently no clear transition plan that would allow existing operators to sell through inventory, adapt product lines, or shift into the new cannabis licensing system.
Microbusiness Licenses, But Out of Reach
The legislation does include so-called “microbusiness” licenses, intended to give smaller operators a path into the legal cannabis market. But industry advocates argue that pathway exists more on paper than in practice.
“The microbusiness licenses, as structured, don’t allow small businesses to even access them. They refused to implement the necessary changes to make them a feasible option for independent entrepreneurs. This is not equity — this is the appearance of equity. A door that cannot be opened is not an opportunity.” — Barbara Biddle, President, Cannabis Small Business Association
Without meaningful access to those licenses, many hemp retailers say they are left with limited options: shut down, relocate operations to neighboring states like North Carolina, or attempt to enter a market dominated by larger, well-capitalized cannabis companies.
Farmers Caught in the Middle
For growers, the impact is just as immediate, if not more complicated. Hemp farming operates on seasonal timelines and long-term investment cycles. Seeds are planted months before harvest, often with thin margins and little room for regulatory uncertainty.
“As a Virginia farmer, I know what it means to invest in the land, follow the rules, and build a business season by season. These last-minute changes threaten to shut out the very people who helped create this industry in the first place. If Virginia is serious about a fair and competitive cannabis market, it cannot cut off hemp farmers and small businesses without giving us a real path forward.” — Graham Redfern, Vice President, Cannabis Small Business Association & Virginia Hemp Farmer
You can read Redfern’s story HERE.
Consumer Impact and a Shifting Market
Beyond the business impact, there’s also a consumer shift already taking shape. CSBA and its members point out that many customers rely on low-dose hemp products for pain management, sleep, anxiety, and general wellness. These are often older adults, veterans, or consumers who are not looking for high-potency cannabis products. Under a 2mg total THC cap, many of those products would disappear from shelves.
The concern, according to advocates, is that demand won’t go away. It will just move elsewhere. “Restricting access to these products does not eliminate consumer demand — it redirects it toward unregulated alternatives,” the group noted.
Industry Divide Becoming Public
The pushback isn’t coming without resistance. Supporters of stricter hemp regulations, including voices aligned with the regulated cannabis industry, argue that intoxicating hemp products have operated in a legal gray area and undermine the rollout of a controlled adult-use market.
That tension has increasingly spilled into public view. In recent days, some industry figures have openly criticized hemp advocates and groups like CSBA, accusing them of attempting to derail the broader cannabis legislation over restrictions on THC limits.
The divide reflects a larger question facing Virginia: whether the transition to a regulated cannabis market will include the small businesses that built the hemp economy, or replace them with a new, more tightly controlled system.
A Narrow Window to Act
Governor Spanberger now has until April 13 to sign, amend, or veto the bill. CSBA and a coalition of hemp businesses are urging her to use amendatory authority to revise the hemp provisions before that deadline, specifically calling for:
- A workable transition plan for existing businesses
- Adjustments to THC limits that preserve low-dose products
- Structural changes to make microbusiness licenses accessible
- Clarity on how hemp products will be regulated moving forward
For now, the industry is in a holding pattern.
Retailers are trying to figure out whether they’ll be allowed to operate in a matter of weeks. Farmers are facing planting decisions without knowing what the market will look like by harvest. And business owners who followed existing laws are being forced to consider whether those rules are about to change faster than they can adapt.
What started as a long-awaited step toward legalization is now shaping up as a defining moment for Virginia’s small cannabis and hemp economy.
Whether it becomes an expansion or a reset may depend entirely on what happens next in the Governor’s office.
Photo by Elsa Olofsson
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