“As written, the law would render the overwhelming majority of products currently on shelves illegal as of July 1. That includes gummies, tinctures, vapes, pre-rolls, beverages and topicals.”
By Ivory Ellis, 757 Smokes
A bill now on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger’s (D) desk threatens to upend access to the popular hemp products that thousands of Virginians rely on daily, unless the governor takes action before April 13.
The legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis sales—SB 542/HB 642—also contains a provision inserted at the last minute to imposes a 2 milligram THC cap on hemp products. If enacted as written, it will eliminate the overwhelming majority of compliant inventory from retail shelves starting in July of this year. The legal replacement market for cannabis doesn’t open until January 2027—leaving consumers, veterans, seniors and small business owners in a six-month gap with nowhere legal to turn.
My business, 757 Smokes, opened its doors in April 2021 with a clear purpose: providing Hampton Roads with a clean, reputable place to access quality hemp products alongside real education about what customers are actually buying. Since then, our locations in Portsmouth and Newport News have served a wide range of customers, including veterans, seniors, working professionals and wellness-focused consumers, many of whom have made hemp a consistent, reliable part of their daily health routines.
Those routines are now at risk of disappearing overnight.
While a 2 milligram limit may sound minor on paper, the real-world impact on existing hemp retail inventory is severe.
As written, the law would render the overwhelming majority of products currently on shelves illegal as of July 1. That includes gummies, tinctures, vapes, pre-rolls, beverages and topicals that are fully compliant under existing regulations today. Retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers across Virginia would be left holding tens of thousands of dollars in unsellable inventory overnight.
This is not a gradual transition. It is an immediate shutdown of a functioning, regulated marketplace.
Compounding the uncertainty, new federal hemp provisions tied to a spending bill signed into law late last year are also looming. Those proposals could further restrict allowable THC levels nationwide, creating additional instability for businesses already trying to navigate Virginia’s changes.
Instead of clarity, the industry is facing overlapping regulatory pressures at both the state and federal levels, which is precisely why Virginia should pause major hemp regulatory changes until there is clear, consistent federal guidance to build on.
Beyond the business impact, the consumer consequences are even more concerning. For years, many customers have relied on higher-dose products, often totaling 500 milligrams of THC, as part of consistent wellness regimens for sleep, anxiety and chronic discomfort. These are not recreational users chasing a high. They are people who specifically chose legal, lab-tested hemp products over alcohol, illicit cannabis or prescription alternatives because those products worked for them at doses that actually matched their needs.
With a 2 milligram hemp cap, those same consumers are now asking a simple question: how can a 500 milligram routine realistically be maintained under the new limits? Right now, there is no clear answer. And that absence of an answer has consequences.
Customers are not asking for loopholes. They are asking for continuity. Removing access to effective dosages does not eliminate demand—it simply redirects it. When regulated products no longer meet consumer needs, the unregulated market steps in to fill the gap. Limiting legal products to ineffective doses while eliminating higher-dose options creates the exact conditions for black-market sales to surge, undermining both public safety and the law’s intent.
At the same time, the timeline offers no relief. Virginia’s adult-use retail cannabis market is not expected to launch until 2027. That leaves a multi-year gap in which compliant businesses are forced to remove products, while consumers are left without legal alternatives that match what they have safely used for years.
A more balanced approach is available. Raising the hemp cap to 5 milligrams per serving while maintaining a 500 milligram total THC cap would preserve access for existing consumers, protect compliant businesses and significantly reduce the likelihood of black market expansion, all while still providing reasonable guardrails for the new market.
Without that adjustment, the result is clear: legal shelves go empty, businesses absorb significant losses and consumers are pushed outside the regulated system.
Virginia has an opportunity to get this right, but the window is closing.
Gov. Spanberger has until April 13 to use her amendatory authority to fix the hemp provisions in SB 542/HB 642 before signing.
A targeted adjustment to the hemp cap would protect consumers, preserve small businesses and maintain the integrity of Virginia’s regulated market. For customers who rely on these products today, waiting until 2027 is not a realistic option.
Ivory Ellis is the founder of 757 Smokes, with retail locations in Portsmouth and Newport News, Virginia, and a member of the Cannabis Small Business Association.
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