A timeline for approval of the rules has not been finalized, and it remains unclear when Virgin Islanders will be able to apply for licenses to legally grow and sell cannabis.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. signed the law in January, and announced the legislation would legalize cannabis use. But the law has not yet been implemented, causing confusion for many community members, and unregulated cannabis remains widely available throughout the territory.
In response to questions from The Daily News, Government House Communications Director Richard Motta Jr. said during Monday’s press briefing that Bryan was invited to speak at a cannabis conference at the end of the month, “because they consider him a leader in the region in bringing recreational cannabis, or adult use cannabis out in the Caribbean region, and so he’s being invited in that regard.”
In terms of the local legal cannabis industry, “the board is currently working on those rules and regulations, I know they’re really close to having completed that. And there is an issue with a quorum on the board, but as soon as the governor can nominate some additional members on that board, they’ll be ready to go,” Motta said.
The Cannabis Advisory Board needs to approve the rules and regulations before Virgin Islanders will be able to legally grow, possess, and sell cannabis.
But board Chairwoman Catherine Kean said at a meeting in August that they can’t take action until they have a quorum of at least six members, and there are currently seven vacancies on the 11-member board.
Hannah Carty, director of the Office of Cannabis Regulation, said the Legisalture needs to amend the law to comport with the draft rules and regulations, because portions of it were left over from a previous effort to legalize medical marijuana.
The board was on the verge of approving rules and regulations to implement the 2019 medical cannabis law when they abandoned that effort in anticipation of a new law legalizing recreational use by adults age 21 and over, which also regulates medical and sacramental use of the drug.
The draft rules outline qualifying conditions for medical cannabis patients, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, multiple sclerosis, severe nausea, autism, any condition for which a practitioner would prescribe an opiate for pain, and “any other conditions” that a medical practitioner certifies in writing where the potential benefits of medicinal use of cannabis “would likely outweigh the health risks for the Qualified Patient.”
Qualified patients include adults age 21 and over, and individuals uner the age of 21 who have a valid cannabis patient card and consent of their legal parent or guardian.
The law also permits sacramental cannabis use by adults who are members of organized religions authorized by the OCR.
The draft rules and regulations are available to view on the website for the Office of Cannabis Regulation, ocr.vi.gov. The proposed regulations have not been reviewed for legal sufficiency and are still subject to change.
Members of the public are invited to submit comments about the proposed rules by email to comments@usvi.onmicrosoft.com, no later than 5 p.m. on Oct. 10.
