The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee voted 8–7 to report SB 970, a bill that establishes a regulatory framework for a statewide adult‑use cannabis market and would create a Cannabis Control Authority to license growers, processors, transporters and retailers.

Senator Aaron Rouse, the bill’s patron, told the committee the measure is designed to “prioritize public safety and creating a well regulated marketplace that keeps adult products out of the hands of kids,” and includes seed‑to‑sale tracking, testing standards and secure transportation requirements.

Supporters who testified included licensed medical cannabis processors, industry trade groups and farmers’ networks. Jack Page of Dharma Pharmaceuticals and representatives from Verano, Purely Appalachia and the Virginia Cannabis Association urged lawmakers to approve a regulated market that they said would replace an illicit, untested and untaxed industry.

Opponents included the Virginia Catholic Conference, Family Foundation, and a representative of the Secretary of Public Safety. Testimony from faith‑based and public‑health groups warned of youth exposure, increased emergency visits tied to edible products, and mental‑health harms. The Secretary of Public Safety’s representative associated his comments with other opposition testimony.

Committee counsel noted several technical drafting corrections and cross‑reference fixes that were made and then reverted as substitutes during the hearing. The committee adopted those cleanups and then voted to send the bill to Finance for fiscal review.

Why it matters: The bill would set licensing limits, testing requirements and an 8% state excise tax with a 2.5% local cap (as described by the patron), measures that could generate significant state revenue and impose new regulatory responsibilities. The 8–7 vote reflects legal and policy disagreements that will continue in Finance and on the Senate floor.

Ending: SB 970 now moves to the Finance Committee for fiscal analysis and budgetary consideration; further amendments are possible there and on the floor.