Bill To Help CBD Retailers Sell At Farmers Markets, Fairs Advances

RICHMOND, VA — A bill that would help CBD retailers and compnaies sell their goods at farmers markets and community events around the state passed the Virginia Senate on a 39-9 vote on Monday afternoon.

State Sens. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon) and Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax City) are the patrons of Senate Bill 1483, which would remove the $1,000 registration fee that CBD retailers are required to pay for any temporary event location at which they planned to sell their products.

Under current law, CBD retailers are already required to pay a $1,000 non-refundable fee to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Hemp Enforcement for any brick and mortar location at which they sell their products. If the retailers wished to set up a table at a farmers market or fair, they would need to pay an additional fee of $1,000 for every temporary retail location.

“We are trying to do the right thing by our customers and our community," Radhika Murari, owner of Reston’s OmBaked CBD Boutique, told Patch on Monday.

OmBaked is often invited to sell their goods at farmers markets and local events, which are often the first exposure many community members have to its CBD products.

“Paying $1,000 for each event would basically shut us down,” said Murari, who reached out to lawmakers last year to see if the temporary event fee could be eliminated.

If the general assembly passes SB1483 and the governor signs it into law, registered retailers who’ve paid their annual fee to the VDACS would no longer be required to pay the $1,000 fee for a temporary location.

"If we're going to be at an event, or community farm, a community market or a farmers market, we're very open to [the Office of Hemp Enforcement] coming and inspecting our product, inspecting our booth, just like they do in the store. But at least the financial burden is on parity with other businesses."

SB1438 adds the following language to the the Virginia Code:

“The applicant shall be required to notify the Commissioner no less than 14 days in advance of any additional temporary event locations, including fairs, festivals, or farmers markets, at which the hemp product retail facility intends to offer for sale or sell at retail (i) a regulated hemp product or (ii) a substance intended for human consumption, orally or by inhalation, that is advertised or labeled as containing an industrial hemp-derived cannabinoid. [ However, no such product or substance that contains tetrahydrocannabinol may be sold at any such temporary event location.]

The legislation advances to the Virginia House of Delegates for consideration.

Lawmakers in both houses have until the end of Tuesday to finalize legislation before crossover, which is when each house considers the other body's legislation before a final vote of the full legislature. The last day to act on budget and revenue bills is Wednesday, Feb. 12. The 2025 general assembly session is scheduled to adjourn on Saturday, Feb. 22.