Let the people decide—Culpeper panel favors putting retail marijuana question on ballot

A county panel leaned toward letting the people decide on future retail sales of recreational cannabis in Culpeper County for those ages 21 and older.

State law permits localities to hold voter referendums this year for the specific purpose of asking if the retail sale of marijuana should be prohibited when it’s allowed in 2024.

State legislators last year pushed up legalization of adult possession of the plant under the Northam administration due to continued disproportionate arrests of Black citizens for criminal marijuana offenses.

Culpeper County Administrator John Egertson brought the question of selling legal weed here to the Board of Supervisors Rules Committee Tuesday morning.

He referenced Virginia marijuana legislation, in flux even as state lawmakers now debate the framework in the current session.

Multiple bills are attempting to speed up recreational sales for adults to as early as the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, 2022.

Egertson told the county committee state rules are still being rethought, with a lot of different bills running around the General Assembly right now.

“We don’t know how it will turn out in the end,” he said.

Current state legislation gives localities a window to hold a voter referendum on the matter in 2022. If that action is approved by the full board, Culpeper voters would weigh in on marijuana retail sales in the town and county in the November election.

“We are authorized to do that, the town can also,” Egertson said of the local government counterpart where a majority of retail cannabis sales, once legal, would likely take place.

However, a county referendum in which a majority of voters say no to retail sales would also prohibit it downtown because the town of Culpeper, more diverse, is the seat of the county, more conservative.

State law also allows localities to do nothing, to not hold a voter referendum and to just let state law take effect when it does in regards to recreational retail cannabis sales to adult.But if put to local referendum, “We would have to live with that decision,” Egertson said.

A prohibition on marijuana sales could not be reversed in another referendum for at least four years, the county administrator added.

Egertson said he recommended not holding a referendum in November, that the sale of recreational adult cannabis was going to be a source of revenue “if this all comes to fruition.”

Counties will have the ability to tax 3 percent on marijuana commerce.

Committee Chairman Gary Deal immediately referred discussion to Jefferson Supervisor Brad Rosenberger, the board’s most senior member. Rosenberger said he felt the people should decide. He proceeded to issue a warning about using cannabis, long stigmatized by the establishment.

“If someone wants to smoke a joint on the weekend,” he said, but then can’t pass a drug test for their work as a bus driver, that’s something to think about, Rosenberger said.

“It sets people up for failure,” he said. “People need to realize the ramifications this can have. It’s unbelievable.”

Rosenberger, a farmer who recently ran unopposed for a 10th term on the board, said a referendum should be considered.

“Let the people of the community voice their concerns whether it should be sold or not.”

Deal and Bates went along with it, recommending to the full board that a marijuana referendum question be included on the November ballot.

Bates said he was not a fan of the state legalizing it for adult use. Whether marijuana is a gateway drug or not is a discussion for another day, he added.

Bates, a small business owner, said it’s hard enough now getting employees who can meet employment requirements, be it for a truck driver or school bus driver.

“With the tax revenue, I get it. Sometimes what looks good initially on the back end ends up costing us more money,” he said.

Deal did not offer any comments on the issue other than to joke about a proposed county meals tax and how that could be helped with legal marijuana sales. Rosenberger stood firm on his position.

“The board should strongly consider having a referendum to determine the outcome of this issue,” he said.

Culpeper Town Council also received a recent briefing from Town Manager Chris Hively on marijuana sales and state law.

The town can also hold a referendum of town voters on the matter, but that could be overturned by a different result in a county referendum.

Hively said there is pending legislation that may uncouple the town from the county, in which case legal cannabis sales could be outlawed outside of town limits, but allowed inside of town limits.

Town Council has not taken a position on holding a referendum.