ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board unanimously approved $25,000 dispensary licenses among a list of annual fees during a virtual meeting today in addition to a patient certification form that must be filled out by practitioners when they conduct a physical examination of cannabis patients.
The other license fees approved by the seven-member board include a range between $2,500 to $10,000 for cultivation, depending on the number of plants to be grown, and $1,000 for a micro-cultivation permit, as well as a $5,000 fee for a manufacturing license.
“All of these application fees are nonrefundable,” Joanne Moorehead, Office of Cannabis Regulation executive director, said, clarifying the fees are the same for new applicants and those seeking to renew an annual license.
Even though the license fee to operate a dispensary is $25,000, Moorehead said an initial applicant would only be required to pay $10,000 when applying since the fee is nonrefundable.
“We have broken this up because we know that we have a limited number of licenses available in the Virgin Islands,” she said.
Moorehead clarified that only those applicants who get approved for a dispensary license would be required to pay the remaining $15,000.
“We felt it was perhaps a little nicer to offer this bifurcated fee where only $10,000 is required for application which is nonrefundable, and then only those who are approved to receive a license then would be responsible for the balance to $15,000 for a certificate to operate,” she said.
Attorney Richard Evangelista, a board member who serves as Government House chief legal counsel, told Moorehead it was a “generous compromise” to only require an initial $10,000 be submitted with the dispensary application.
“I applaud you and the team for getting that together because as a nonrefundable fee for the dispensary license, we were looking at $25,000 but now you’ve actually broken it down so that, you know, persons are not discouraged,” he said. “They may still be discouraged, but at least they’re saving themselves $15,000.”
OCR may issue up to seven cannabis dispensary licenses on St. Thomas, up to seven on St. Croix, and up to three on St. John, according to the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act (Act No. 8680).
The proposed fee for sacramental users to receive an identification card was $75, but the board unanimously approved a motion to reduce the fee to $50 to be in line with the previously-approved fee of $50 for medical patient ID cards after board member Positive Nelson raised a question about the discrepancy.
“I thought the medicinal patient and the sacramental user were going to be bracketed together,” Nelson, Governor Albert Bryan Jr.’s cannabis policy advisor, said. “Any input there, you all? Hey, something for the Rasta man.”
After hearing no opposition from board members, Nelson moved the motion to approve a $50 fee for the sacramental user ID card. The board also approved a $200 fee for ID cards obtained by sacramental organizations.
The approved license fee for an adult-use lounge and for on-site cannabis use is $1,500, but board members questioned the definitions for both. Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner H. Nathalie Hodge specifically asked for an explanation of on-site cannabis use. Moorehead was not able to define it.
“I’m not exactly 100% sure to be honest what the difference is between an adult-use lounge and on-site cannabis use,” the executive director said. “The on-site cannabis use is in the legislation, and I’ve been actually researching and asking this question because I’m not finding very clear answers to what the difference is, which is why the fee is exactly the same.”
Dr. Catherine Kean, board chair, suggested eliminating one of the licenses. Moorehead clarified doing so would require an amendment to the law. Assistant Health Commissioner Nicole Craigwell-Syms, a board member, suggested that a lounge would have pre-rolled joints and edibles.
“It’s kind of like more of a wide-marketed kind of thing for the use as opposed to on-site,” she said.
Evangelista read the definition in the statute for on-site consumption permit, which he said is “a permit issued to a cannabis licensee authorizing limited on-site consumption of cannabis at the licensed premises.” He said there is no definition for lounge in the law, suggesting a need for an amendment. He said a lounge is an entire area created for consumption, while an on-site permit would be required for a limited space in a location other than an adult-use lounge.
“That’s how best I can explain it based on what I just read,” he said.
The fee for a cannabis temporary use permit for a particular event is $1,000. An ID card will be $250 for an agent, who is defined in the OCR rules and regulations as an authorized cannabis business representative or third-party vendor who regularly accesses a cannabis business or regularly possesses cannabis because of the services provided, or both. Third-party vendor certification, approved vendor, and a request to change ownership all cost $1,000. A research and development license, and an OCR certified testing facility certification are both $1,500, while a testing facility license is $2,500.
During a meeting on July 9, the board approved identification card initial fees and renewal fees of $50 for medical patients residing in the territory, including adults and patients under 21 years old, as well as for non-resident medical patients. The approved fee for designated caregivers to obtain or renew an ID card is $35. There is a $20 fee for caregiver requests for additional patients, and for patient requests for additional caregivers. There is a $100 fee for at-home cultivation for medical patients and sacramental users. It is $250 for the two-year certification of practitioners.
After the governor signed into law the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act on January 18, 2023, the VI government moved closer to regulating legal cannabis sales in the territory for both medicinal and recreational use with the approval of rules and regulations by the Cannabis Advisory Board in April that were subsequently signed by the governor in May. Registration is now open on the OCR website, ocr.vi.gov, for patients and caregivers, practitioners, and sacramental organizations to apply for licenses. The entire license fee schedule will be posted on the OCR website.
The Cannabis Advisory Board is scheduled to hold its next meeting on September 10. A time has not yet been determined.
