Licensing Update: Five New Cultivator Licenses Issued in Relatively Slow Week, As October Start Date Approaches

MONTPELIER – Coming off of last week’s whopping 63 license approvals, the Vermont Cannabis Control Board slowed down the pace on cultivation licenses this week, approving five licenses in today’s meeting.

Other topics addressed during today’s meeting include updates on inventory tracking and one Social Equity Status denial that required a private executive session.

License holders approved in the September 7, 2022 meeting (full text list at the bottom of the article).

“It’s worth noting that this is the first Board meeting that we have more applications that are in the ‘approved’ category than we have still ‘in process.’   – Executive Director Brynn Hare

Application Updates

Executive Director of the Board Brynn Hare noted while sharing application updates that this is the first time there are more applications in the ‘approved’ column than the ‘in process’ column.

Medical Cannabis Program

Social Equity

The Board entered into Executive Session during today’s meeting to discuss staff recommendation for denial of Social Equity Status for one applicant. Members were joined in Executive Session by Xusana Davis and Jay Greene of Vermont’s Office of Racial Equity. The Board voted in favor of staff recommendations meaning this applicant was denied Social Equity Status.

Notes on Inventory Tracking

The Board has developed specific data points that each licensees must track and report back to the Board. Currently, the Board is entering into a contract with a third-party service that will integrate necessary reporting and data entry into the Board’s inventory tracking portal.

This integration will help streamline reporting for licensees. “[Licensees] will have kind of a one-stop-shop to report inventory as well as do renewals and start [other] applications,” Chair James Pepper noted at the start of the meeting.

Unfortunately, the timeline of this contract has extended further than the Board was able to foresee. Until it has been finalized, licensees must report inventory on the Board’s tracking website. These online forms aren’t available until next week.

At next week’s meeting, Compliance Officers will offer a tutorial on how to properly collect inventory records on each license type and how to accurately report this information to the Board using its online forms.

Other Meeting Item(s):

• Reminder: Prior to license issuance, the Compliance Team will conduct a site visit.
  • If you have a pending application and have not been visited by a Compliance Officer, the Board will be in touch to set up said visit.

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Licenses approved in today’s meeting:

• Weed Connections
• Cremation Solutions LLC DBA Vermont Pot
• Horticultural Professionals
• DEMETERS DG, LLC
• First Branch Cannabis