Is weed legal in Virginia?

Recreational status

Recreational cannabis is legal in Virginia. (§ 4.1-1100. Possession, etc., of marijuana and marijuana products by persons 21 years of age or older lawful; penalties)

Personal possession, use, and home cultivation of marijuana by an adult 21 or older are lawful now, with no future effective date attached to this section. No retail license class for adult-use sale exists yet: the Cannabis Control Authority's Retail Marijuana Market page states that 2026 legislation establishes a retail market, with regulations taking effect in January 2027 and retail marijuana sales beginning July 1, 2027.

Virginia legalized what an adult does with cannabis before it licensed anyone to sell it, so possession, use and a home grow are lawful today while no recreational retail license class exists. The Cannabis Control Authority's regulations take effect in January 2027, and retail marijuana sales start on July 1, 2027.

Medical status

A full medical cannabis program runs in Virginia, serving patients the program registers. (§ 4.1-1601. Certification for use of cannabis for treatment)

A practitioner's written certification is what gets you registered, and the Cannabis Control Authority is the body running the program. Registration is what opens a counter to you, because lawful possession on its own opens none.

Hemp-derived products

Virginia permits the sale of hemp-derived products and limits which ones. (§ 3.2-4122. (Repeal effective July 1, 2027) Regulated hemp product retail facility registration; fee)

Retail sale of a regulated hemp product requires an annual $1,000 regulated hemp product retail facility registration; this section's own heading marks it repealed effective July 1, 2027, when the Cannabis Control Authority's adult-use retail framework takes over. The Authority's Hemp Information page states that, beginning August 15, 2026, hemp products sold in Virginia may not exceed 0.3 percent total THC or contain more than two milligrams of total THC per package.

Since August 15, 2026 a hemp product sold in Virginia may not exceed three-tenths of one percent total THC, and may hold no more than two milligrams of total THC per package. The store selling it carries an annual $1,000 registration, and that registration section is repealed on July 1, 2027, when the Authority's retail framework takes over.

Home cultivation

Virginia allows an adult to grow up to 4 plants at home. (§ 4.1-1101. Home cultivation of marijuana for personal use; penalties)

The four-plant figure is a per-household ceiling, not per-resident: 'at no point shall a household contain more than four marijuana plants,' however many qualifying adults live there. Plants may not be visible from a public way without optical aids and must be tagged with the grower's name and driver's license or identification number.

Four is the ceiling for the whole household, so two adults under one roof share the four rather than getting four each. Each plant has to carry a tag with your name and your driver's license or identification number, and none of them may be visible from a public way without optical aids.

Possession and purchase limits

The possession limit, as Virginia states it: A person 21 years of age or older may lawfully possess on his person or in any public place not more than two ounces of marijuana or an equivalent amount of marijuana product as determined by regulation promulgated by the Board. (§ 4.1-1100. Possession, etc., of marijuana and marijuana products by persons 21 years of age or older lawful; penalties)

Possessing more than two ounces is a civil penalty of no more than $25 up to four ounces; more than four ounces but not more than one pound is a Class 3 misdemeanor (Class 2 for a second or subsequent offense), except in a person's own residence; more than one pound is a felony punishable by one to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

On buying, Virginia states: No more than four ounces of botanical cannabis shall be dispensed for each 30-day period for which botanical cannabis is dispensed. (§ 4.1-1603. Dispensing cannabis products; report)

No more than a 90-day supply may be dispensed at one time, as determined by the dispensing pharmacist or the certifying practitioner. This is the medical dispensing limit; Virginia's adult-use retail market has not begun sales (see the note on purchase_channels). Separately, no pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility may dispense more than a 90-day supply of cannabis products overall to a patient in any 90-day period, as determined by the dispensing pharmacist or certifying practitioner, and a patient may receive more than one product at a time.

The two-ounce figure is about what you carry on you or in a public place, and the first step past it is a civil penalty of no more than $25 rather than a criminal charge. The four-ounce figure belongs to the medical side, where it caps what a dispensing facility may give a patient in a 30-day window.

Minimum age

You must be 21 or over to buy without a medical card. (§ 4.1-1100. Possession, etc., of marijuana and marijuana products by persons 21 years of age or older lawful; penalties)

You must be 18 or over to hold a card and buy for yourself. (Medical Cannabis Program: Patients & Caregivers)

A minor may still participate: under § 4.1-1601, a parent or legal guardian may receive the written certification on the minor's behalf and may register as the minor's agent to obtain cannabis products for them. The Cannabis Control Authority's patient page pairs the age with 'or have the consent of a parent/legal guardian.'

The 21 line does its work on possession and home growing today, because no recreational store has opened where it could gate a purchase. Below 18, a parent or legal guardian receives the written certification for the minor and registers as their agent, so the adult is the one at the counter.

Where you can buy

You can buy lawfully from a licensed medical dispensary and a retailer of hemp-derived or CBD products. (§ 4.1-1602. Permit to operate pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility)

§ 3.2-4122 separately authorizes retail sale of regulated hemp products through a registered hemp product retail facility. The Cannabis Control Authority's Retail Marijuana Market page states that retail marijuana sales begin July 1, 2027; until then there is no adult-use-dispensary channel.

Virginia's medical counters are pharmaceutical processors and cannabis dispensing facilities, each permitted by the Authority, and your registration is what gets you served at one. A hemp product shop holds a different registration entirely and sells only within the caps set for hemp.

The Virginia store list names every licensed location this site holds a record for.

Federal law applies here too, and it is not the same. Read what federal law says about weed.