Licensing Update: Board Issues Eight New Licenses, Proposes Rule Changes

MONTPELIER — The Vermont Cannabis Control Board came back strong after the holiday break to discuss several pertinent topics, including new guidance protocol and a number of proposed changes to Board Rules. Members of the Board also issued eight new licenses, including five manufacturers, two retailers and one cultivator.

The following establishments became officially licensed today:

• Highly Rooted, Manufacturer Tier 2
• BLISS POINT CHOCOLATE, Manufacturer Tier 2
• Tir Na Nog Edibles, Manufacturer Tier 1
• Green Queen Incredible Edibles, Manufacturer Tier 2
• Bordertown Apothecary, Manufacturer Tier 1
• Sleepers Garden, Indoor Cultivator Tier 1
• Cambridge Cannabis Company, Retailer, Jeffersonville
• The Tea House, Retailer, White River Junction

In honor of tomorrow being World AIDS Day, Chair of the Board James Pepper began the meeting by acknowledging the relationship between the HIV/AIDS community and legal cannabis. “People living with HIV were some of the earliest advocates speaking truth to power about the therapeutic effects of cannabis,” he noted.

Pepper went on to credit how the sacrifice and determination of this community gave way to both medical and retail cannabis in the state of Vermont. “Thank you for all the bravery and hope you share with the world every day,” he concluded.

Guidance Walk-through

Board Commissioner Kyle Harris walked viewers through a two-page guidance document titled What Can I Do With My Cannabis License?. The guidance details what is and is not permitted under each license type. Each section contains a hyperlink to Board rules for that respective license type.

Flower and Bulk Flower Registration

It became clear to the Board after last week’s Q+A session that there was some confusion on the nuances of registering flower. To bring clarity to this, staff compiled all the necessary information into a one page guidance sheet.

Licensees may register flower either prepackaged or in bulk. The first option requires each different cultivar or strain be registered separately, the second option only requires one product registration.

More detailed criteria on the two options as well as information on reusable bulk containers can be found HERE.

Proposed Changes to Board Rules

General Counsel of the Board David Scherr has kept record of rule change suggestions and spent the bulk of today’s meeting reviewing them. “This is the starting line of [the Board’s] rule change process….this will be a continuous, iterative process,” Pepper explained.

Before Scherr outlined rule changes, he assured viewers that these changes will not take affect until the Board has provided ample opportunity for public comment. The current rules were heavily influenced by public comment earlier this year and the same is intended going forward with these newly proposed changes. Public comment on new changes is set to take place in February 2023.

Many of the changes reviewed today were technical as well as substantive. A document containing the proposed changes will be on the Board’s website within the week.

A few of the proposed substantive changes include the following:

RULE 1

• Change to definition of Outdoor Cultivation regarding minimal use of artificial lighting to maintain plant’s vegetative state (present in Rule 2 as well).
• Clarification of ‘incarceration’ in terms of Social Equity qualifications: pre-trial detention does not apply.
• Clarification of ‘impacted community’ in terms of Social Equity qualifications; this won’t change who qualifies, rather it serves to show how the Board has interpreted the definition thus far.
• Addition to the applicability of Board Rules: persons who engage in sales of hemp-derived products that contain more than 1mg of THC per serving must adhere to Board Rules and licensure under this proposed change.
• Supercritical CO2 extraction is not permitted for use by Tier 2 Manufactures.
• License renewal not necessary in every instance of Change of Control, however Board must still be notified of a Change of Control no matter the license type.
• The following sections of the proposed changes do not apply to Tier 1 cultivators:
  • 1.4.2 (g)(h)
  • 1.4.4 (a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(h)
  • 1.4.5 (b)
  • 1.5.2 (a)(b), if the cultivation establishment will be a home occupancy business

RULE 2

• Adjustments to basic definitions, ex:/ clones, distillate, harvest lot, etc.
• Changes to warning label requirements (more to come via Dept. of Health): must use capital lettering when using smaller than 6pt font. If labels have already been ordered in bulk they may still be used regardless.
• Retail co-location permitted with additional requirements.
• Clarification on requirements for cultivators growing for personal use.
• Disposable vaporizers are not permitted for sale in retail market.
• Retail employees may receive product samples.
• Clones permitted for retail sale.
• Adjustments to testing requirements: new flow chart in Board’s Guidance section soon.
• The following sections of the proposed changes do not apply to Tier 1 cultivators:
  • 2.2.1 (l)
  • 2.2.4 (a)(b)(c)
  • 2.2.5 (b)(i)(v)
  • 2.2.7 (j)
  • 2.3.2 (g)
  • 2.5.3, provided that home occupancy businesses are exempted from the provisions of this section.
  • 2.5.6 (b)(c)

Rule 3 was omitted from this meeting with Pepper citing the Board would like to wait to hear from the  Legislature. The Board expects the Legislature will revisit the state’s medical program.

RULE 4

• Addition of Administrative Appellate Process: refers to process of what occurs when someone disagrees with the final decision of the Board and wants to appeal it through a higher authority.

Administrative Note

The Board has designated a new Rule Waiver Request Form. Flexibility was built into the design of the original Board rules to reduce certain requirements on a case-by-case basis. The new form came about in an effort to streamline and centralize the waiver request process. Going forward, every waiver request except for packaging waiver requests must be submitted through this form.

Staff Recommendations

Adult-Use License Applications as of 11/29/2022

Licensee Totals

Thanks for reading!

Heady Vermont is made possible with support from readers.
If you find our news and industry info valuable, please consider
a yearly membership – and get premium access to content, events,
priority industry alerts and exclusive partner offers. 

JOIN NOW