By Agenda: Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, VA-The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation this past session to create a retail market for cannabis — Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed this legislation. The Commonwealth had legalized cannabis for adult possession and cultivation in 2021.
Cannabis is currently legal and available only to treat medical conditions at state-regulated dispensaries. But concerns linger as to the health effects of chronic cannabis consumption and to what extent a black market for cannabis contributes to criminal activity.
What exactly is legal now? Should cannabis be available for retail sale in Virginia? How would it work? Could it affect law enforcement? What about people already serving time now for marijuana crimes?
Agenda Alexandria will host a panel discussion and ask these questions during its April program on Monday, April 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the Lyceum in Old Town, Alexandria. To register, go to AgendaAlexandria.org.
Panelists:
-
Trent Woloveck – Chief Strategy Director at Jushi, owner of Beyond Hello dispensaries
-
Jeremy Preiss Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) Authority’s Chief Officer – Regulatory, Policy, and External Affairs
-
Robert B. Nealon, Esq. – Senior Partner of Nealon & Associates, P.C
-
Bryan Porter – Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria
Trent Woloveck brings singular strategic planning and strong business acquisition and cannabis development experience to his role as Chief Strategy Director at Jushi. He formerly served as President of TGS National Holdings (an affiliate of The Green Solution), as well as COO at American Cannabis Company, where he worked with his clients to win state cannabis licenses. Woloveck earned his BS in finance from Miami University.
Jeremy Preiss joined the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) as its second employee in January 2022. He serves as the Authority’s Chief Officer—Regulatory, Policy, and External Affairs, leading the CCA’s work on policy, legislation, regulation, and public affairs. He has also served as the Acting Head of the CCA since the spring of 2022.
Before joining the CCA, Preiss worked as a legal executive on ethics, compliance, and international business matters for almost 25 years for two aerospace and defense companies, United Technologies and Raytheon Technologies. Prior to that, he was international trade counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and an attorney with the firm Sidley Austin where his practice focused on international investment and trade.
Robert B. Nealon, Esq., is the Senior Partner of Nealon & Associates, P.C. Mr. Nealon has been practicing law for over thirty-seven years and has been lead trial counsel on hundreds of commercial law trials, including multi-million dollar derivative action lawsuits, security fraud, government contract fraud cases, and government contract protests. Nealon was appointed to the Virginia Small Business Advisory Board by former Virginia Governor Warner and has been reappointed to this state board by Governor Kaine 2010 as its Chairman. He is also a current appointee to the George Mason University Advisory Board for the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (now the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution) in Arlington Virginia and served as Chairman for five years.
Nealon served as an Adjunct Instructor of Corporate Law, at George Washington University from 1985 until 2005. He has taught numerous continuing legal education seminars to attorneys, accountants and other business professionals and has written multiple professional publications in connection with his professional teaching activities and public speaking.
Bryan Porter is the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria, Virginia, his hometown. He was first elected in 2014 and is currently serving his third term in office.
Porter began his career as a police officer, working the midnight shift while attending law school. Immediately after passing the bar exam, Porter was hired as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria.
Porter has conducted the investigation and prosecution of hundreds of violent offenses as well as the lead prosecutor on a number of murder and manslaughter cases. He is the author of a book about the investigation and trial of a serial killer case he handled.
Agenda:Alexandria is registered 501(c)(3) non-partisan organization which encourages informed debate and discussion on a wide variety of local issues without taking a position. We host in-person and digital programs on topics of interest to the residents of the City of Alexandria.
