New medical marijuana law goes into effect

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Medical marijuana dispensaries, like gLeaf, are seeing an uptick in customers now that people don’t have to go through as many steps as before to get medical marijuana.

The new law says you no longer have to register through the Board of Pharmacy to get your hands on a medical cannabis card. All you have to do now is get a written certification from a health care provider. The change means people will no longer have to wait weeks or months to be approved.

“We hear from dozens of patients each week who are trying to navigate the registration process. So this is a huge improvement and will make the process much easier for those looking to access medical cannabis in Virginia,” said Virginia NORML Executive Director JM Pedini.

Medical marijuana dispensaries say the change is good for them. gLeaf beefed up staff and stocked up on products ahead of the law change.

”People are taking advantage of the new law and making this easier, more effective, more streamlined, less expensive for patients to enter the program,” explained Joy Strand, Executive Vice President of Green Leaf Medical.

Friday, the dispensary already had long lines of people waiting outside the facility to get in.

“More patients in the program is better for all of the processors, but the real winners in this are the patients in having to not go through so much red tape to get enrolled into the program,” Strand said.

A new law went into effect Friday, where people will now face a criminal misdemeanor for public possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana.

Copyright 2022 WWBT. All rights reserved.

Send it to 12 here.

Want NBC12’s top stories in your inbox each morning? Subscribe here.