The Office of Cannabis Regulations Will Approve the First Cultivator Licenses in June

One of the experts who addressed the CannaPro Summit Saturday was Joanne Moorhead, executive director of the V.I. Office of Cannabis Regulation, who fielded questions from the audience as the territory prepares to approve the first applications to cultivate by June 13.

St. Thomas and St. Croix will each be granted 15 cultivation licenses, while St. John will receive five. Eventually, the two larger islands will license seven dispensaries apiece, with three dispensaries planned for St. John. According to the website, the winning cultivation licenses will be announced in August.

Moorehead has been on the job for over a year, so she didn’t have all the answers, but her responses indicated she has been researching potential problems.

The law currently requires a laboratory on each island to test all cannabis for mold, strength and other additives before it is sold. The looming question from several audience members of around 100 people was about testing laboratories.

Labs are privately owned. Depending on the size of the facility, participants and previous speakers estimated that building a lab can cost between $3 and $8 million.

“I have had some conversations with people who said they were interested in having a lab, but, as the regulator, that’s all I know, until we open the process,” Moorehead said.

There can be more than one lab, but “there will only be one certified testing facility on each island.”

Moorehead thinks the law may change this year, since there are states with legalized cannabis and offshore islands. In that case, St. Thomas/St. John would have the first lab and St. Croix sometime later, she said.