ST. CROIX — Proposed hemp sales time limits are no longer being considered in the draft rules and regulations after the Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board voted during a virtual meeting Thursday to allow licensed businesses to sell the products during regular business hours following a discussion prompted by public comments opposing the restrictive hours.
The draft proposal initially sought to limit retail sales of intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoid products to between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., unless otherwise authorized by the Virgin Islands Office of Cannabis Regulation.
Joanne Moorehead, Virgin Islands Office of Cannabis Regulation executive director, said the proposed hours for the sale of hemp is connected to the hours of operation for cannabis dispensaries.
“They could not be open longer than 7 p.m.,” she said about cannabis dispensaries.
The Board members discussed options that included extending the cutoff time by two or three hours and limiting sales during the week but extending hours during the weekend.
Dr. Catherine Kean, Board chair, said closing off hemp sales at 7 p.m. is too early.
“I think it needs to be extended to probably around 9 o’clock or so,” she said. “People go out and they have dinner and stuff like that, and then we kind of have to anticipate what the evening might look like.”
Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion, a Board member, pointed out that one of the public comments addressing the concern suggested allowing the sales to occur during the hours the business is open rather than indicating specific times.
Christopher Jones, a Board member, questioned why a licensed retailer would not be permitted to sell hemp during its hours of operation.
“It just seems funny to me to have some place that’s open and, ‘nope, you missed the cutoff, can’t sell it to you,’” he said.
Jones said he assumed hemp products would be sold in gas stations opposed to cannabis dispensaries, but Moorehead informed him that the law restricts hemp products from being sold in gas stations, grocery stores, or convenience stores. She said hemp could be sold in a properly licensed dispensary. Jones questioned why a customer visiting a dispensary would purchase hemp instead of cannabis.
“I don’t see why I would go to a dispensary to buy fake, or to buy hemp-derived cannabis,” Jones said.
Moorehead said she has previously heard the question, noting the cost of the product is a deciding factor.
“If the hemp is less expensive, perhaps they would be more inclined to purchase the less expensive product,” she said.
The Board voted unanimously to allow licensed retailers to sell hemp products during business hours.
“Different stores may close at different hours, but we’re not restricting them to stop at 7 p.m.,” Kean said.
Now that the 30-day public comment period officially concluded on September 11, the Board will review all submissions for consideration as part of the rulemaking process.
Moorehead said most of the comments her office received were not specific to the draft rules and regulations but instead addressed matters that are more statutory or legislative in nature. In addition to the concern about the sale hours of hemp, the only other public comment she discussed with the Board related to inter-island transportation.
The draft proposal would require regulated cannabinoid products to be transported by an authorized license or permit holder and accompanied by a manifest identifying the transporter, origin and destination, products being transported, and date and time of transport. Inter-island transportation also would have to comply with OCR requirements.
Moorehead said the comment in response to the language regarding inter-island transportation called for more specificity in the rules and regulations.
“The OCR’s perspective on that is, while we understand that they want more specificity, I think we are also looking at sort of a parallel structure to the cannabis rules and regulations, and putting any more detail into the rules and regulations sort of handcuffs the office a little bit if changes need to be made, if there are federal regulations that come into play and we’re not able to quickly pivot or change requirements at the office level,” she said.
Moorehead said existing policy states that OCR must give licensees advance notice of 90 days if the transportation policy is amended.
“We have all of those rules and requirements as a policy, and any changes to that would be given to the licensees well in advance,” she said. “It wouldn’t be like we changed it today and next week Monday now you’re noncompliant and in trouble.”
The Board unanimously approved a motion to retain OCR’s procedural authority and require 90-days notice of material change to the policy.
The draft proposal would take the intoxicating hemp market and put it under a system resembling a regulated cannabis industry. It establishes a regulatory system for intoxicating hemp products and artificially derived cannabinoids, giving the Office of Cannabis Regulation responsibility for licensing, product testing, labeling, inventory tracking, and enforcement.
The 30-page document is based on two pieces of legislation enacted earlier this year — Act Nos. 9072, which became law in January, and 9079, enacted in March. The first measure established a regulatory framework governing intoxicating hemp products and artificially derived cannabinoids while authorizing oversight by OCR and expanding the enforcement authority of OCR. The second measure amended certain provisions of Act No. 9072, including requirements related to the reporting and disposition of intoxicating cannabinoid products held in inventory by retailers.
The proposed rules and regulations include licensing and permitting requirements for businesses involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale, and transportation of intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoid products; limits on the number and location of retail establishments; age-verification and retail operating requirements; laboratory testing, product labeling, packaging and THC limits; restrictions on marketing and products that could appeal to minors; brand registration, inventory tracking and recordkeeping requirements; mandatory employee training; transportation and security requirements; inspection and enforcement procedures; administrative holds, embargoes, and product removal orders; license suspensions and revocations; administrative hearings and appeals; civil penalties and referrals for possible business-license revocation; and coordination between the Office of Cannabis Regulation and other territorial and federal agencies. The rules also address variances, federal-law considerations and the procedures for bringing the regulations into effect.
The draft proposal would create a licensing system for businesses involved in intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoids, with separate permits for retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and transporters. Retail licenses would be capped at six each on St. Croix and St. Thomas and two on St. John, while the caps would not apply to manufacturers, distributors, transporters, or authorized laboratories.
During the meeting, Moorehead also announced that the first commercial cultivator has officially been cleared to begin operations on St. Croix. She said the temporary testing laboratory is also operational on St. Croix.
“That means that the official cultivation has truly, truly begun,” she said. “The lab is up; they’re waiting on plants to test.”
The proposed rules and regulations have not been adopted by the Cannabis Advisory Board, approved by Governor Albert Bryan Jr., or promulgated as law.
