Licensing Update: Five New Vermont Retail Licenses Issued

MONTPELIER – Up from four last week, five new retail cannabis licenses have been issued by the Vermont Cannabis Control Board.

With 47 retail locations across the Green Mountains in the queue waiting for final approval, consumers will have plenty for storefront variety to choose from. Burlington leads with nine different options, followed by three in Brattleboro, Montpelier, and Rutland, respectively.

The following 10 licenses (five retail, three manufacturer, two cultivator) were issued by the Board today:

• Taconic Chronic – Outdoor Cultivator, Tier 1
• Vermont Organic Health & Beauty Solutions, LLC – Manufacturer, Tier 1
• Clovis – Mixed Cultivator, Tier 2
• Grass Queen, Inc. – Retailer, Burlington
• Zenbarn Ventures, Inc. – Retailer, Waterbury Ctr
• The High Country – Retailer, Derby
• Magic Mann – Retailer, Essex
• Higher Elevation – Retailer, Morrisville
• KnR Cannabis – Manufacturer, Tier 2
• Vermont Kind – Manufacturer, Tier 3

See licenses approved in last week’s Oct. 19 meeting.

General Announcements

Upcoming Q+A Session

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board is set to host a live remote Q+A session on Monday, November 21 at 7 p.m. This session will cover testing, inventory tracking, and product registration. The link to this meeting will be available on the Board’s website closer to the date.

Product Requirement Reminders

As the quantity of retail cannabis establishments continues to grow in Vermont, the Board wishes to remind licensees that every product sold to the public must be registered and approved by the Board. The product registration form and payment portal can be found on the Board’s website.

“[Product registration] is a critical step to make sure that everything available to consumers is compliant with [the Board’s] testing protocols, approved ingredients list, labeling, advertising, and packaging regulations,” —Chair James Pepper

Licensees should take care that everything they are required to submit for each registration has been submitted. Pepper credited this as the best way to help speed up the approval process, as well as providing a link to the proposed packaging. Until the aforementioned Q+A session, the Board recommends referring to the introductory instructions that is distributed to licensees when product registration is initiated.

Product registration applications cannot be approved until the $50 registration fee has been successfully paid.

Packaging

All cannabis products except flower must be in child-resistant packaging. Pepper emphasized that the packaging cannot be child-resistant one time, rather, it must remain child-resistant for the number of servings in each package.

Child-resistant packaging has to be the primary packaging for each product. “Putting an edible in a non-child-resistant packaging and enclosing it in a secondary child-resistant package does not meet the federal definition of child-resistance,” Pepper explained at today’s meeting.

For more information on what qualifies as child resistant click here.

Categorical Waivers

The Board recognizes the hardship that the industry’s ban on plastic creates for many licensees, specifically in terms of child-resistant packaging. For this reason, the Board has granted a number of product specific waivers that allow the use of a limited amount of plastic for the purpose of meeting child-resistant requirements.

Board Member Kyle Harris shared that two categorical waivers were recently granted. One is for “plastic or rubber push buttons for cannabis products only” in order to fulfill child-resistance requirements. The other pertains to liquids and allows the use of plastic child-resistant caps

“If you’re making a liquid that needs to be opened and closed multiple times, [the Board] understands there’s not really a company that’s making lids for liquids in a sustainable fashion at this time,” —Kyle Harris

Harris also encouraged viewers to not hesitate to reach out to the Board ([email protected]) with questions on this topic.

Staff Recommendations

Medical Cannabis

Licenses Approved

Social Equity Applications

License Applications (as of 10/25/22)

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