Virginia
Virginia medical marijuana agency plans to start tracking sales data next year
RICHMOND — 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 marijuana 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.
But 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 access of 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.
CNS asked the BOP about the average price of items dispensed, but were told the agency “has no regulatory authority to set or monitor prices,” and to contact the CCA.
The VDHP does track revenue generated from fees charged to processors, providers and patients who paid registration and participation fees. A patient no longer needs to pay to register as of last year, which helps explain lower revenue last fiscal year.
Licensure fees must cover all the expenses associated with the program, according to Powers.
The total revenue from the last three fiscal years:
- FY 2021 – $1,837,745.00
- FY 2022 – $2,581,997.30
- FY 2023 – $620,709.91
The total expenditures from the last three fiscal years:
- FY 2021 – $ 583,902.03
- FY 2022 – $1,109,530.53
- FY 2023 – $1,269,195.45
The program’s expenses included shared services, finance, enforcement, human resources and information technology.
The Maryland Cannabis Administration tracks and reports the monthly revenue and expenditures, the number of patients and total dispensary sales, and presents the information to the public.
The Washington D.C. Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration tracks the same information, as well as the number of Virginia patients who make purchases.
The CCA would only respond to written questions.
“The CCA is committed to building systems and processes that will enable us to track sales and report data once we assume regulatory oversight in 2024,” Preiss stated. “We plan to share collected sales data publicly as soon as we have the capability to do so.”
Virginia’s medical cannabis program was projected to earn approximately $50 million by 2024, according to MJBIZ — a publication covering cannabis business news since 2011.
Pharmaceutical processors are permitted facilities that grow cannabis plants and dispense medical products to patients. The companies that provide medical cannabis in the state have all reported increased earnings and growth in the state, according to recent reports filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CNS contacted the state’s cannabis processors: Green Thumb, which owns Dharma Pharmaceuticals; Columbia Care, which also owns Green Leaf Medical; and Jushi, which owns Dalitso. Only Dalitso responded, but would not provide sales data. The spokesperson said to contact the Board of Pharmacy.
Columbia Care listed the state as a top market and reported that revenue grew more than 25%.
Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond, supported legislation to decriminalize cannabis and create recreational and medical markets in Virginia. As a nurse practitioner, she operates a business that certifies medical cannabis patients.
Adams would like to see the CCA present a comprehensive revenue and expenditure audit from the inception of the medical cannabis program through December, she said.
The program and state have generated and provided millions of dollars, according to Adams.
“The question is, where are those funds and what are they funding currently?” she said. “And what is the remainder of those funds and how will those be appropriated to the CCA?”
State lawmakers carved almost $6 million of funding from the CCA in September.
The CCA is now budgeted $5.3 million for its operations, which is $2.9 million less than it was given last year. The authority was originally created in anticipation of the recreational cannabis market that lawmakers voted down, so some of its scope has changed.
“The budget is not really necessarily problematic, I think they have the funds to do what they need to do right now,” Adams said about the CCA.
Some of the budget cuts would have originally funded zero and low interest loans for licensees participating in an adult-use retail market, according to Preiss, but lawmakers never passed a recreational market.
The CCA has an 18-member team preparing to take control of the medical program, and plans to hire a few more people. To prepare for a smooth transition, the agency has developed the regulations and guidance documents to administer the medical cannabis program.
In addition to its upcoming regulatory role, the agency releases publications and social media posts about how to engage with cannabis legally and safely. It also has a campaign to promote safe driving.
Another top priority is to get a licensed pharmaceutical processor into Health Service Area 1, Preiss stated. The Northwest region of the state has been without a medical cannabis market due to a lawsuit that was resolved earlier this year.
The CCA will invest in new technology such as Seed-to-Sale software to help “enhance the security of the medical cannabis program.” It can identify contaminated products to ease removal and is intended to enhance consumer protection and public health, Preiss stated. The software also detects if cannabis is diverted out of the program or illicit cannabis enters the program.
The CCA, as part of its policy work, advises the General Assembly on “various aspects of cannabis” when a bill is being drafted or after introduction, according to Preiss. The agency has started the dialogues for potential legislation in 2024, and is near completion with a requested study due on Nov. 30 about possible medical cannabis program expansion.
“This is not easy work, and we are fortunate to have a sharp, long-time state government executive leading these efforts,” Preiss stated.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
Virginia
Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024
The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 26, 2024, results for each game:
Mega Millions
Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.
05-22-24-39-42, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 7-3-0, FB: 2
Day: 7-2-1, FB: 5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 1-6-6-8, FB: 5
Day: 7-4-5-8, FB: 4
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 0-5-4-9-9, FB: 2
Day: 6-9-5-3-2, FB: 0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash4Life
Drawing everyday at 9 p.m.
04-11-13-30-39, Cash Ball: 02
Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash Pop
Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.
Coffee Break: 04
After Hours: 05
Prime Time: 06
Rush Hour: 09
Lunch Break: 12
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash 5
Drawing every day at 11 p.m.
12-22-31-38-44
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Virginia
Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways
Virginia (4-2) got back in the win column with a 74-65 victory over Manhattan (3-3) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Here are our five quick takeaways from the Cavaliers’ win over the Jaspers.
Virginia was in serious need of a win after suffering those two humbling losses to Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. But a convincing and comfortable victory would have been even better and for a while, it seemed like the Cavaliers were on their way to doing just that. UVA led by as many as 15 points in the first half and opened up a 16-point advantage midway through the second half. But rather than putting the game away, Virginia let Manhattan hang around and the visiting Jaspers were in a situation where they were fouling to stop the clock in the final minutes, narrowing the deficit to as little as six points. A win is a win, but this was far from a confidence-boosting performance.
Virginia went with a new starting lineup on Tuesday night, as Andrew Rohde replaced TJ Power. Rohde has been playing very well recently, particularly with his resurgent outside shot, while Power came into this game shooting 25% from beyond the arc this season.
Power initially responded well to the benching, swishing a corner three shortly after he first entered the game, hitting the deck for a loose ball, and coming up with a steal to stop a Manhattan fastbreak. But he wound up playing only six minutes, fewest among Cavaliers who saw the floor in the game. That does not bode well for the Duke transfer.
Read Val’s Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.
Rohde, on the other hand, had another solid game and was perhaps the top performer for the Hoos on Tuesday night. Though he missed his only three-pointer, which was a desperation off-balanced heave at the end of the shot clock, Rohde finished with a season-high 14 points, two assists (with one turnover), two rebounds, and four steals. Rohde showed excellent feel for the game, getting exactly where he wanted to go and exhibiting some nice touch on a couple of floaters plus a short jumper off the glass. If Rohde is playing like this and his three-point shot continues to be there, this could be a big season for the former St. Thomas transfer.
The main reason why this game continued to be close deep into the second half is because UVA’s defense frequently broke down and gave up open shots to Manhattan, particularly from the perimeter. The Jaspers shot 11/26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc and and seven different players knocked down a three. A couple of those Manhattan triples were well-contested, but the vast majority of them were wide-open. That’s very concerning and shows that this Virginia defense, with its many new faces, is still very much a work in progress.
Virginia’s offense was pretty well neutralized by Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. Tuesday night against Manhattan was a small step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
Let’s start with the good. Five different Cavaliers scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from Isaac McKneely, who hit three of his four three-point attempts and went 5/6 from the free throw line. We still think McKneely needs to shoot way more, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Dai Dai Ames scored 10 points and dished out five assists, but fouled out of the game. Blake Buchanan made his first four shots and finished with 11 points and five boards. Cofie made five of his seven shots and finished with 10 points and five boards. The best part of the game was that Virginia had 15 assists on 29 made baskets and turned the ball over only eight times, a vast improvement over the team’s turnover issues in The Bahamas.
Virginia outscored Manhattan 42-22 in the paint. That looks like a good stat, but it’s also an inevitable stat because of UVA’s size advantage over the Jaspers, whose tallest player in the rotation is 6’8″. Still, Manhattan snared 10 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points. In The Bahamas, UVA was dominated on the glass and was simply outmatched from a physicality and athleticism standpoint. Nothing we saw from the Cavaliers on Tuesday night did anything to alleviate those concerns.
Up next, Virginia remains at home for another (supposed) tune-up game against Holy Cross on Friday at 4pm at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia vs. Manhattan Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball
UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas
Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways
Virginia
Virginia vs. Manhattan Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball
Virginia (3-2) is set to host Manhattan (3-2) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. Follow along with score updates, play-by-play, and live analysis for the game in the thread below. Updates will be posted at each timeout in reverse chronological order with the most recent updates at the top of the article. Refresh the page for updates.
As we await our 7pm tip between Virginia and Manhattan on the ACC Network, read a full preview of the game here: Virginia Basketball vs. Manhattan Game Preview, Score Prediction
Virginia has posted its starting five for tonight’s game:
– Dai Dai Ames
– Isaac McKneely
– Andrew Rohde
– Elijah Saunders
– Blake Buchanan
Notably, TJ Power has been replaced by Andrew Rohde in the starting lineup after starting the first five games of the season. Power is shooting 25% from three (4/16), while Rohde is currently shooting 50% from beyond the arc (7/14).
- Virginia and Manhattan will meet on Tuesday night for just the second time ever and first time since March 19th, 1993, when the Cavaliers defeated the Jaspers 78-66 in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
- UVA is 9-0 against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
- Virginia’s last game against a MAAC team was back in 2012, when the Cavaliers defeated Fairfield 54-45 at John Paul Jones Arena.
- UVA is 2-0 at John Paul Jones Arena this season and 3-0 against unranked opponents this season.
Read more Virginia men’s basketball news and content in the links below:
UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas
Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways
The Plus/Minus: Virginia Gets Skunked by Tennessee in The Bahamas
Virginia Basketball Falls to Tennessee 64-42 | Key Takeaways
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