President of CSBA, Barbara Biddle, on Virginia Cannabis VETO, Legalization & Budget Process

Why Some Hemp Businesses Supported Governor Spanberger's Veto

The debate surrounding Virginia's adult-use cannabis legislation has often been framed as a battle between legalization advocates and opponents. But for many hemp business owners, the conversation is far more complicated.

Barbara Biddle, a hemp retailer, manufacturer, and co-founder of the Cannabis Small Business Association (CSBA), considers herself firmly pro-legalization. She wants Virginia to establish a legal adult-use cannabis market. Yet she also supported Governor Abigail Spanberger's decision to veto the most recent legalization bill.

For Biddle and many small hemp operators, the concern was never legalization itself. It was whether the legalization framework would create a fair pathway for the businesses that have spent years operating under Virginia's hemp laws.

Since the federal legalization of hemp, thousands of entrepreneurs across Virginia have invested in retail stores, manufacturing facilities, brands, distribution networks, employees, and customer relationships. Many viewed hemp not as a permanent destination, but as a bridge to the eventual adult-use cannabis market that lawmakers had repeatedly promised.

Today, those businesses find themselves in a difficult position. While many support regulation and recognize that parts of the current hemp market will likely change under legalization, they worry that the businesses that helped build Virginia's cannabis economy could ultimately be excluded from the licensed market they spent years preparing to enter.

The industry's biggest fear is not necessarily regulation. It is exclusion.

Many hemp operators believe legalization should include a clear transition pathway for existing businesses, recognition of the investments already made, and meaningful access to adult-use licenses. Without those protections, some fear they could lose portions of their current businesses while receiving little opportunity to participate in the market that replaces them.

During an appearance on RVA's Got Issues, Biddle explained why she and the CSBA opposed the legislation that ultimately reached Governor Spanberger's desk. Her concerns centered on the bill's proposed redefinition of hemp, the speed of implementation, and a licensing structure she believes favored existing medical cannabis operators over small businesses. *Barbara's interview begins around the ninth minute.

Below is the full interview transcript.

Richard Meagher: This is RVA's Got Issues. We're talking about the death of marijuana legalization in Virginia. Now, not everyone in Virginia is totally upset by the governor's veto of the marijuana bill. Barbara Biddle is a small business owner and co-founder of the Cannabis Small Business Association. Welcome, Barbara.

Barbara Biddle: Thanks for having me.

Richard Meagher: So, Barbara, what's your business interest here? How are you involved in this industry?

Barbara Biddle: Yes, so I am a hemp retailer and manufacturer. I started my business in 2017. We specialize in hemp-derived CBD products, and you know it's been quite an adventure today, so.

Richard Meagher: What's the difference here, just to be clear, right? Because I think people confuse this stuff. Hemp is a plant that's not the same thing as marijuana, but they're related, is that the idea?

Barbara Biddle: So they're both cannabis.

Richard Meagher: Yeah. Okay.

Barbara Biddle: The main distinction between hemp and marijuana is going to be the THC content.

Richard Meagher: Okay.

Barbara Biddle: So anything under 0.3% THC that is considered hemp, if it's grown legally through a licensed farmer, gone down specific supply chains, that is federally legal hemp.

Richard Meagher: And THC is like the intoxicant, the part of the plant that actually makes you feel high.

Barbara Biddle: Yes.

Richard Meagher: Okay.

Barbara Biddle: Yes.

Richard Meagher: And CBD is another thing that you can get out of these plants, right?

Barbara Biddle: Correct, correct. So CBD offers the therapeutic values of the plant, but without the intoxication.

Richard Meagher: You then sell hemp products. So, what kind of stuff are we talking about?

Barbara Biddle: Yeah, we've got gummies, tinctures, bath salts, we've got lotions, creams, drinks, so we have a wide array of products, depending on what the consumer needs in their lifestyle.

Richard Meagher: Okay, and you know, every state has different approaches to legalization. That's been part of the challenge, right, for business owners. And so with all this said, I would think that you would welcome a legalized cannabis market in Virginia, and yet you asked the governor to veto this current bill that was pending. Why? What was wrong with that bill?

Barbara Biddle: Well, first off, I definitely want to make clear, I am pro legalization. The CSBA wants a legalized adult use market. However, this bill, the way that it was written, was not the right vehicle for legalization. Unfortunately, I think one of the major things that stuck out to us was the redefinition of hemp, and the timeline of that redefinition. What this bill would have done would have redefined hemp and essentially outlawed almost 80% of the market. There's over 2,000 licensed hemp retailers in the state right now. What happens to them? What happens to their leases? What happens to the loans that they've taken on to create this business? What happens to all the consultants that they work with, their employees?

Richard Meagher: Yeah.

Barbara Biddle: You know that's not something you can do in two months and expect there not to be complete devastation. If we open up sales within a six-month period, there's not going to be any product to sell.

Richard Meagher: Yeah.

Barbara Biddle: Another major thing was just the unfairness around how these licenses would be divvied out. Right, we have these medical operators that are essentially being grandfathered nine licenses each, while small businesses like myself and members of our association would have to enter a lottery and hope and pray that we get one license, and then we're capped at five.

Richard Meagher: So I'm beginning to see why you weren't such a big fan of the current bill here, right? So it basically would ban the sale of the stuff you're already selling, and then it would create such a rushed timeline and maybe some other constraints that would make it so big companies would have a leg up on small businesses like yourself.

Barbara Biddle: Exactly.

Richard Meagher: So, Barbara, this idea that the Commonwealth would outlaw hemp, you've gone through this before, haven't you? D.C. did the same thing a few years ago.

Barbara Biddle: Yes, just recently. And it wasn't even through the law. They don't mention hemp at all in their law. What they essentially said is that anything that is hemp is cannabis, and only cannabis can be sold out of medical facilities. But the problem is, there's no hemp farmers in D.C. You cannot import hemp into D.C. because of how they've written the law. So I have so many customers shopping at my stores looking for CBD products because they cannot find it in the district, and I don't want that to happen in Virginia. I don't want my customers to lose access to these products that are changing their lives, and that's what might happen with this bill. I think it's really important that we take all the nuance into consideration because there can be devastating impacts not only on businesses but on consumers that need these products.

Richard Meagher: Some people, though, are really upset by this veto, right?

Barbara Biddle: Absolutely, and rightfully so. I think a lot of people have been waiting for years for this to happen, not only consumers but aspiring business owners. We're even disappointed that we still aren't taking steps forward when it comes to cannabis legalization. So all of those negative feelings, they're valid 100%. But if we're going to set it up, we need time to make sure that we do it correctly.

Richard Meagher: Let's say that this fight gets brought into the budget, and that over the next few weeks, as legislators are negotiating our budget, they also include some provisions for setting up a legal retail market. Would you support a potential budget impasse to make that happen, even if it gets us to the brink of a shutdown?

Barbara Biddle: That's tough. You know, I get it. It depends on what it looks like, right? And I think it's incredibly unfair to put the governor in that position, where we would shut down the government to force a bill through without proper analysis, proper input from financial experts, and from stakeholders. Again, I understand the sense of urgency, but we need to get this right, and that takes time. We're not building a temporary market. This is a forever thing. We don't want to rush that.

Richard Meagher: Barbara Biddle is President of the Cannabis Small Business Association. Thanks, Barbara.

Barbara Biddle: Thank you.