The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board approved a draft fee schedule at its Tuesday meeting that isn’t for the faint of heart. Hobbyists may think twice about ponying up $1,000 to be a micro-cultivator, while those hoping to open a cannabis dispensary will need to build $25,000 into their budget — $10,000 to apply for the license and another $15,000 once granted.
A permit for an adult-use lounge would be $1,500.
Joanne Moorehead, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Regulations, said a full list of the fee schedule would be posted on the office’s webpage by Wednesday. It includes $1,500 for a research and development license, $5,000 for a cannabis manufacturing license, and between $2,500 and $10,000 for a license to cultivate cannabis — depending on the number of plants.
Board member Positive Nelson worried high prices might deter those already in the territory’s cannabis industry from leaving the illicit market and joining legal growing and sales efforts.
“Legalization shouldn’t be so cumbersome and, you know, complicated that it drives people today in the illicit market,” Nelson said. “Whether it’s for personal consumption or from the cultivation end, we want them to participate. In discourse and as things go along, I’m sure we’ll be making some adjustments.”
Nelson suggested one adjustment before the meeting ended. The board voted to reduce identification cards for sacramental cannabis users from $75 to $50.
“I could just cry,” said a smiling Nelson. “We know the truth about this cannabis. The world has made it seem like only Rasta people was using cannabis until legalization happened. All of a sudden we realize everybody and their mom be.”
The board also unveiled a draft prescription form for cannabis medical practitioners. It included recommended product type, dosage, and other information.
In July, Moorehead said she hoped cannabis regulators would be accepting applications from would-be cannabis-selling businesses by September. The office had been working closely with the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, she said, to assess what still needed to be done and what had for sure been completed. Currently, the office offers cannabis licenses for adult caregivers, sacramental organizations and individual sacramental users, medical patients and medical practitioners.
At a July meeting, the board passed a fee schedule for medical practitioners to pay $250 and patients to pay $50. Designated caregivers would pay $35 plus $20 per additional patient; at-home plant cultivators for sacramental use would pay $100.
After decades of stalled initiatives, the territory legalized cannabis in January 2023.
The board approved draft regulations in April, and a month later, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. also signed off on them.
