A. A pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility shall dispense or deliver cannabis products only in person to (i) a patient who is a Virginia resident or temporarily resides in Virginia and has been issued a valid written certification; (ii) such patient’s registered agent; or (iii) if such patient is a minor or a vulnerable adult as defined in § 18.2-369, such patient’s parent or legal guardian who is a Virginia resident or temporarily resides in Virginia. A companion may accompany a patient into a pharmaceutical processor’s dispensing area or cannabis dispensing facility. Prior to the initial dispensing of cannabis products pursuant to each written certification, a pharmacist or pharmacy technician employed by the pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility shall make and maintain, on site or remotely by electronic means, for two years a paper or electronic copy of the written certification that provides an exact image of the document that is clearly legible; shall view, in person or by audiovisual means, a current photo identification of the patient, registered agent, parent, or legal guardian; and shall verify current board registration of the corresponding registered agent if applicable. Thereafter, an initial dispensing may be delivered to the patient, registered agent, parent, legal guardian, or designated caregiver facility. Prior to any subsequent dispensing of cannabis products pursuant to each written certification, an employee or delivery agent shall view a current photo identification of the patient, registered agent, parent, or legal guardian and the current board registration issued to the registered agent if applicable. No pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility shall dispense more than a 90-day supply, as determined by the dispensing pharmacist or certifying practitioner, for any patient during any 90-day period. A pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility may dispense less than a 90-day supply of a cannabis product for any patient during any 90-day period; however, a pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility may dispense more than one cannabis product to a patient at one time. No more than four ounces of botanical cannabis shall be dispensed for each 30-day period for which botanical cannabis is dispensed. In determining the appropriate amount of a cannabis product to be dispensed to a patient, a pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility shall consider all cannabis products dispensed to the patient and adjust the amount dispensed accordingly.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-3442.7

  • Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
  • Agent: means an authorized person who acts on behalf of or at the direction of a manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Board: means the Board of Pharmacy. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Cannabis dispensing facility: means a facility that (i) has obtained a permit from the Board pursuant to § 54. See Virginia Code 54.1-3442.5
  • delivery: means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer of any item regulated by this chapter, whether or not there exists an agency relationship, including delivery of a Schedule VI prescription device to an ultimate user or consumer on behalf of a medical equipment supplier by a manufacturer, nonresident manufacturer, wholesale distributor, nonresident wholesale distributor, warehouser, nonresident warehouser, third-party logistics provider, or nonresident third-party logistics provider at the direction of a medical equipment supplier in accordance with § 54. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Dispense: means to deliver a drug to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for that delivery. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Person: means both the plural and singular, as the case demands, and includes an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental agency, trust, or other institution or entity. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Pharmaceutical processor: means a facility that (i) has obtained a permit from the Board pursuant to § 54. See Virginia Code 54.1-3442.5
  • Practitioner: means a physician, dentist, licensed advanced practice registered nurse pursuant to § 54. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Tetrahydrocannabinol: means any naturally occurring or synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation and any preparation, mixture, or substance containing, or mixed or infused with, any detectable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
  • Total tetrahydrocannabinol: means the sum, after the application of any necessary conversion factor, of the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol and the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401

B. A pharmaceutical processor or cannabis dispensing facility shall dispense only cannabis products produced on the premises of a pharmaceutical processor permitted by the Board or cannabis products that have been formulated with extracts from industrial hemp acquired by a pharmaceutical processor from a registered industrial hemp handler or processor pursuant to § 54.1-3442.6. A pharmaceutical processor may begin cultivation upon being issued a permit by the Board.

C. The Board shall report annually by December 1 to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health on the operation of pharmaceutical processors and cannabis dispensing facilities issued a permit by the Board.

D. The concentration of total tetrahydrocannabinol in any cannabis product on site may be up to 15 percent greater than or less than the level of total tetrahydrocannabinol listed in the approved cannabis product registration. A pharmaceutical processor and cannabis dispensing facility shall ensure that such concentration in any cannabis product on site is within such range. A pharmaceutical processor producing cannabis products shall establish a stability testing schedule of cannabis products that have an expiration date longer than six months.

2017, c. 613; 2018, cc. 246, 567, 809; 2019, c. 690; 2020, cc. 730, 831, 928, 1278; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 205, 227, 228; 2022, cc. 259, 391, 392, 642; 2023, cc. 744, 760, 780, 794.