No agency tasked with management of the state’s medical cannabis program can cite sales data, but the Cannabis Control Authority said it plans to start tracking revenue in 2024. Medical cannabis became legal in 2020, and the first dispensary opened in Bristol that year. There are now over 20 dispensaries across the state.
The state Board of Pharmacy, which falls under the Virginia Department of Health Professions, currently oversees the medical cannabis program. The CCA will take on its regulatory role in January. Capital News Service asked the VDHP for sales figures, but it recommended checking with the CCA.
However, the CCA could not provide the sales data either, though CNS asked multiple times because numerous sources pointed to them. The authority is limited to accessing the medical cannabis program data because they’re not the current regulator, according to chief officer Jeremy Preiss.
The BOP has no statutory authority to collect the financial data, according to spokesperson Diane Powers. It tracks the number of times a product is dispensed through the Prescription Monitoring Program. There were 1.7 million dispensations of medical cannabis through September this year. Overall, there has been a “rapid rise” in cannabis dispensations, according to the agency.
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