Virginia

Virginia’s hemp beverage framework is defined by one number: 2 milligrams of total THC per package. That cap has been in place since 2023 (Va. Code Ann. § 3.2-4112 as amended), and until recently a 25:1 CBD:THC ratio exception allowed products with more than 2mg THC if they contained 25 parts CBD for every 1 part THC. That exception is eliminated effective August 15, 2026 under SB 543 and companion budget legislation (HB 30), both signed by Governor Abigail Spanberger in mid-2026. The consequence: essentially every commercial hemp beverage at the standard 3-5mg dose is prohibited from sale as hemp in Virginia. This has been true structurally since 2023, but ambiguity around the ratio provision preserved some pathways; those close in August. SB 543 also transfers hemp regulatory authority from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) in August 2026, expands CCA enforcement powers (cease-and-desist orders, civil penalties, unlicensed operator enforcement), creates a Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act civil action, and makes selling non-compliant intoxicating hemp a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. On the marijuana side, HB 30 authorizes Virginia’s regulated retail cannabis market beginning July 1, 2027 — a market that former Governor Youngkin blocked repeatedly with vetoes (2024, 2025). Applications for cannabis business permits begin July 2026 with a 350-license cap. Enforcement responsibilities are split between CCA (licensed market) and ABC (illicit market) with an eventual merger into the ‘Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Cannabis Control Authority’ by 2028. Notably, a federal court upheld Virginia’s stricter-than-Farm-Bill hemp regulations in January 2025, rejecting preemption arguments — meaning Virginia’s approach is on solid legal footing regardless of federal Section 781 timing. For hemp beverage operators, Virginia is effectively closed to any standard-dose product; the state framework will further tighten in August, and federal alignment comes November 12.