Virginia’s former secretary of public safety registers as marijuana lobbyist

By: Ned Oliver - January 27, 2022 4:22 pm

Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

Gov. Ralph Northam’s former secretary of public safety has a new job: lobbying state lawmakers on marijuana.

Brian Moran, who helped Northam roll out the initial framework for marijuana legalization last year, registered this week as a representative of Jushi Inc.

The company holds one of four active medical marijuana licenses in the state, operating dispensaries in Northern Virginia under the brand name Beyond Hello.

The medical marijuana industry has been actively lobbying state lawmakers for special licenses to begin recreational marijuana sales earlier than the 2024 date for the broader industry, presenting themselves as a logical stopgap while Virginia finalizes regulations. Hemp producers are also hoping for permission to begin sales early.

Moran was not immediately available for comment.

Moran, who served in the House of Delegates between 1996 and 2008, is one of 14 ex-legislators currently registered as a lobbyist, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which first noted Moran’s registration.

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Ned Oliver

Ned, a Lexington native, has been a fulltime journalist since 2008, beginning at The News-Gazette in Lexington, and including stints at the Berkshire Eagle, in Berkshire County, Mass., and the Times-Dispatch and Style Weekly in Richmond. He is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, in Great Barrington, Mass. He was named Virginia's outstanding journalist for 2020 by the Virginia Press Association.