Marijuana Business Factbook 2019

Marijuana Business Factbook 2019 Chapter 2 | State-By-State: Legal Overview, Market Data and Outlook 166 © Copyright 2020, Marijuana Business Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. You may NOT copy this Factbook, or make public the data and facts contained herein, in part or in whole. For more copies or editorial permissions, contact CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or call (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. VIRGINIA Medical continued MARKET OVERVIEW Number of registered patients 1,180 (up from 500 in mid-2019) Estimated 2019 MMJ sales via dispensaries Sales are expected to start in 2020 SUMMARY What to watch in 2020 Virginia awarded five pharmaceutical processing licenses— which are vertically integrated cannabis businesses—in early 2019, with sales expected to begin by mid-2020. The five licensees are spread across the state, meaning patient access will be extremely limited. A bill introduced into Virginia’s House of Representatives would increase the total number of licenses to 10, but it’s not yet known if that will pass through the Legislature. Furthermore, demand might suffer because of a prohibition on the sale of flower and edibles products. 2020 should provide a good indication of the long-term viability of Virginia’s MMJ program as it’s currently constructed. Marijuana Business Opportunity Rank for 2020 C Only five pharmaceutical processor licenses were available for cultivation, manufacturing and dispensing of CBD and THC-A oil-based products. All five licenses have been awarded, and three went to multistate operators. Because licenses are vertically integrated, cannabis business opportunities remaining in the state are restricted to ancillary companies unless regulators decide to increase the number of dispensing locations. While flower and infused edibles are prohibited, infused products such as lozenges and lollipops will be allowed and might keep the door open to licensing agreements with operators in other states.