US Virgin Islands launches cannabis program

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The U.S. Virgin Islands cannabis industry is set to get underway this week as more windows open for applications. The program covers the islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. St. Thomas and St. Croix are approved for up to seven dispensaries and 15 cultivation licenses; St. John is approved for three dispensaries and five cultivation licenses.

The estimated size of the market isn’t yet known, but the islands attract more than 2.4 million tourists each year. The program is expected to benefit the locals and also capitalize on vacationers.

“Gov. (Albert) Bryan (Jr.) is particularly proud of what the legislature and executive branch have done regarding the USVI program,” Government House Communications Director Richard Motta said. “We are the first in this country to allow for sacramental use, as we recognize as a territory that there are members in our community who partake in cannabis use for sacramental purposes.”

The application window for microcultivator applications opened on Nov. 4. Several sources have indicated that the window for research and development applications is expected to open on Nov. 20, with dispensary license applications anticipated to open on Dec. 20. However, the Office of Cannabis Regulations said that some of that information is not correct, and advised that regulators will publish the accurate dates on the OCR website and through social media.

“The governor also recognizes through both the legislation and these regulations that there are members of our community who have been marginalized for possession or even selling cannabis in the past, and he has endeavored to create opportunities to also participate legally by allowing for automatic expungement for certain cannabis-related crimes and encouraging individuals who are otherwise not qualified for automatic expungement to have their records expunged so that they too can also participate in this green market,” Motta added. “It took some time to get to this point, but the rules and regs are comprehensive, and not only are they comprehensive, they have also been vetted.”

License applications The U.S. territory will use a merit-based system to determine license winners. Applicants must be able to document that at least 50.1% of its ownership is a resident over the age of 21 who does not have disqualifying felony offenses as defined by the law.

In addition, the Virgin Islands Cannabis Act includes a social equity program focused on female-owned or service-disabled Veteran entities, individuals who were adversely impacted by law enforcement for sacramental use of cannabis, and individuals adversely impacted by the criminal justice system for activities now considered legal under the law.

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