ST. CROIX – The 35th Legislature of the Virgin Islands’ Committee on Economic Development and Agriculture met in the Frits E. Lawaetz Legislative Conference Room. Lawmakers received a status update on the overall status of the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulations, including the implementation of Act 8680, and licensing procedures for the cannabis industry.
Joanne Moorehead, Executive Director of the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulations delivered an update as it pertained to the office. The office was first created via Act No. 8167, the Virgin Islands Medicinal Cannabis Patient Care Act, which was a result of a 2014 referendum where 56.5% of the voting public voted to support the “the licensing and regulation of medicinal marijuana, patients, caregivers, cultivators and distribution centers”. About one year later, after the passage of Act 8167, the 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands enacted the more comprehensive “Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act”, known as Act 8680. The office is governed by the Cannabis Advisory Board, a body of eleven persons appointed by the Governor and approved by the Legislature. It has the executive authority to implement and administer the provisions in act 8680, such as promulgating rules and regulations related to the cultivation, manufacture, sale, dispensary, testing, licensing, and use of Cannabis, prescriptive use of Cannabis, and Sacramental Use. OCR rules and regulations were approved in April 2024.
The Office officially onboarded its second team member, Lyn Marie McCarty, in Mid-August. It is expected that the enforcement division will be comprised of a staff of four, including two supervisory positions. The office anticipates the need for additional staffing. Moorehead stated that positions needed will include additional administrative support, a public safety coordinator, training specialist and a full enforcement team. However, Moorehead stated that these additional personnel would not be hired before Fiscal Year 2026.
Horace Graham, Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. Graham informed the body of the role that the Department has had in its critical development phase. This has included administrative assistance, office space, fiscal management, and human resource acquisitions. DLCA has aided with Charge codes and collections to assist with the OCR, the revision of personnel requisition forms to ensure they align with regulatory standards and reflect the office’s operational needs. Graham stated that DLCA remained committed to its role in establishing the cannabis industry in the Virgin Islands and remained ready to support the necessary support the office. Moorehead stated she could not give an exact number of potential dispensaries in the territory until the applications became available and were received. She said it was likely that dispensaries would not live in the territory within the first 4-6 months of 2025.
Additionally, the Committee considered Bill No. 35-0283, An Act amending Title 19, Virgin Islands Code, Part III, Chapter 34, The Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act. The measure was proposed by Senators Donna A. Frett-Gregory and Javan E. James, Sr.
Joanne Moorehead, Executive Director of the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulations delivered comments on the proposed measure. Moorhead joined the office at the end of May 2024 shortly after the cannabis advisory board approved and adopted the rules and Regulations in April 2024. Moorehead said the OCR has been working diligently to establish the framework through which Act 8680 will be implemented and that there are sections of the measure that could benefit from clarification. These areas have included: Section 1 (b) (1) (A), which agrees with the change, which would request additional language that allows for the ex-officio commissioners to be able to name a designee, if they so choose, Section 1 (g) ; which requests that the date be amended to January 1, 2027, given that the Virgin Islands would not have operational dispensaries until 2025, and would like to have the opportunity to suggest any changes to the number of licenses using data based evidence from at least one year of operations, and Section 1 (1) (3), which agrees with the changes, but would like to add “And designated caregivers” after the first instance of “qualified patients” in the first sentence to maintain consistency of changes in other sections of the amendments.
Kye Walker, Esq, Managing Attorney, The Walker Legal Group, Christiansted St. Croix delivered comments on the proposed amendments. Walker, who serves as a legal advisor to the Office of the Governor regarding the Virgin Islands Cannabis Act reminded the body that her work was limited to legal issues around the language of the enabling legislation and rules and regulations. The proposed bill is a comprehensive set of amendments that will strengthen and correct various oversights within the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act that passed the 34th Legislature on December 30, 2022, and signed into law by the honorable Governor Albert Bryan on January 18, 2023. Attorney Walker stated that there are very minor inconsistencies and omissions within the law where definitions of terms like “Applicant” and “Cardholder” have been amended to include those that were mistakenly omitted. Other definitions such as “disqualifying felony offense” and “Sacramental use” were revised for clarity.
Walker’s testimony spoke of several proposed changes. In Section 777 of the VI Cannabis Use Act, a proposed change that has been made to the description of the composition of the Cannabis Advisory Board, has been revised to ensure that Commissioners of Health, Agriculture, and Licensing and Consumer Affairs do not needlessly complete the confirmation process before the Legislature and to include a requirement that the farmer appointed to the Board be recommended by the Local Food and Farm Council rather than the commissioner of agriculture. Also, section 777 includes additional language that provides board members with legal indemnification for their official actions and language describing their protected actions and communications. These major changes bring the Cannabis Advisory Board in line with other boards within the Government of the Virgin Islands.
A proposed change to Section 777 (f) extends the timeline for the OCR to become self-sufficient from taxes and fees generated from two years after enactment to years after promulgation of Rules and Regulations. This happened on May 4, 2024, which would give the OCR until May 4, 2026, to become financially self-sufficient. Licenses and permits have not yet been issued, which gives the office a more reasonable timeline. Several other proposed changes were offered. After further rounds of inquiry, the Committee favorably approved Bill No. 35-0283, and forwarded the measure to the Committee and Rules and Judiciary for further consideration.
Senators present at today’s committee hearing included Javan E. James, Sr., Angel L. Bolques, Jr., Marvin A. Blyden, Diane T. Capehart, Dwayne M. Degraff, Novelle E. Francis, Jr., Alma Francis Heyliger, and Donna A. Frett-Gregory.
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