Meet a Virginia-licensed practitioner by video. If cannabis may help, your written certification is issued digitally — ready for the licensed dispensary set to open right here in Staunton.
Staunton's first licensed medical dispensary is expected to open in early October 2026 in a former bank building, which lets it offer drive-thru pickup for online orders — handy if getting in and out of the car is hard.
Opening dates can shift. Check the official CCA dispensary list or the dispensary's website before you go.
Virginia issues certifications digitally and no longer requires patient registration, so there's no waiting on the mail.
Choose a time with a Virginia-licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who issues medical cannabis certifications.
Discuss your symptoms, health history, and past treatments. Your practitioner decides whether cannabis may benefit you — there's no fixed condition list in Virginia.
It appears in your CCA Portal account, valid for up to one year. The dispensary scans its QR code and checks your government ID.
A certification works at every licensed dispensary in Virginia, so you don't have to wait for Staunton's to open.
The region's first dispensary opened in August 2026 at 260 Shady Elm Rd, just south of Winchester — up I-81 from Staunton. Other licensed locations across Virginia are on the CCA list.
Expected in early October 2026 on Frontier Drive, with drive-thru pickup for online orders. Once it opens, Augusta County and Waynesboro patients will have a licensed option minutes from home.
“I've been waiting years for a dispensary this side of the mountains. Getting certified now means I'm ready the day it opens.”
— Linda G., Staunton“The nurse practitioner went through my chronic pain history carefully. It took twenty minutes from my living room.”
— Mark P., WaynesboroThere's no official list. Your practitioner decides whether you have a condition or disease that may benefit from cannabis.
Virginia-licensed MDs and DOs, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners jointly licensed by the Boards of Nursing and Medicine.
No. Virginia removed the patient registration requirement. Your certification and a government-issued ID are what dispensaries check.
Virginia accepts temporary residents. A lease or utility bill with your Virginia address can prove residency if your ID is from another state.
Retail sales can't begin until July 1, 2027, and only for adults 21+. Until then, certification is the only way to buy at a licensed dispensary.
Published by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.
Known as the Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley, Staunton sits where I-81 meets I-64. It's the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, home to Mary Baldwin University, and the site of the Blackfriars Playhouse, a recreation of Shakespeare's indoor theater. Its hilly downtown is lined with preserved Victorian storefronts. Staunton residents follow the same statewide medical cannabis process as all Virginians.
Section 54.1-3408.3 of the Code of Virginia allows licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to issue written certifications. The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority oversees the program and issues certifications through its CCA Portal.
Adult-use retail sales may start July 1, 2027, and the medical program is set to continue alongside them. Watch the Cannabis Control Authority for updates.
Telehealth visits with Virginia-licensed practitioners.