Virginia's hemp rules just changed twice: a 2mg THC cap, and a new regulator
The 25-to-1 ratio allowance is gone, replaced by a hard two-milligram total THC cap per package as of August 15. Regulation moved from VDACS to the Cannabis Control Authority, which now has cease-and-desist power.
Two things happened to Virginia’s hemp market this summer, and either one alone would have been significant. Together they reset the category.
One: the ratio allowance is gone
Virginia previously allowed hemp products through a 25-to-1 CBD-to-THC ratio pathway. A product could carry more THC provided it carried proportionally much more CBD.
That allowance has been eliminated. As of August 15, 2026, a product with more than two milligrams of total THC per package cannot be produced or sold as a hemp product in Virginia.
The unit is per package, not per serving. A tin of ten gummies is one package. The whole tin has to come in under two milligrams of total THC, not each gummy.
For most of the hemp-derived THC products that have been moving through Virginia convenience stores, smoke shops and some bars over the past few years, that is not a tightening. That is a removal from the market.
Two: the regulator changed
Hemp product regulation has moved from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, which began regulating hemp products in August 2026.
Compliance contacts and registration paperwork that point at VDACS now point at the wrong agency.
Existing registrations are still good. Current Hemp Product Retail Facility Registrations remain valid until their expiration, and early re-registration is not required.
The enforcement teeth are new
Senate Bill 543 gives the CCA authority to:
- Take enforcement action against unlicensed cannabis and hemp businesses
- Issue notices of violation
- Issue cease and desist orders
- Impose civil penalties
Under the old arrangement, hemp enforcement was thinner and slower. A regulator with cease-and-desist power and civil penalty authority is a different animal, and it has just been handed a market where a large share of the inventory went non-compliant on August 15.
There is also a public tip line, 1-844-WEED-TIP, for reporting suspected illegal activity.
What is coming
A retail cannabis market is authorized, with sales set to begin July 1, 2027, and the CCA will establish licensing requirements for retail cannabis businesses.
The framework reached the books by an unusual route. HB 642 (Krizek), “Cannabis control; establishes framework for creation of retail marijuana market, penalties, report,” passed the Senate with a substitute on a 21-19 vote on March 4 and was vetoed on May 19, as was its Senate counterpart SB 542. On June 16 the Governor, Sen. Lashrecse Aird and Del. Paul Krizek announced a compromise, and the framework was written into the budget as a separate enactment clause of HB 30, 2026 Special Session I, Chapter 1, approved June 29. Full account: Virginia legalized retail cannabis in the budget.
That is ten months out. Anyone currently selling hemp-derived THC products is operating in the gap between a market that just contracted sharply and a licensed market that does not open until next July.
