Cannabis Control Board Update
Over the past month, the Cannabis Control Board held its last handful of regular Board meetings before departing from the listening portion of its rule making process and moving into the drafting of initial rules with the two newly selected out-of-state consultant firms, VS Strategies, and the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, the final members of the Advisory Committee, and a new subcommittee structure and process.
“Note, VGA and our Coalition have expressed objection to commissioners and lawmakers over one of the out-of-state consultants hired, VS Strategies, and two appointments on the Advisory Committee, the member selected by the Vermont Cannabis Trade Association and the member “with expertise in the cannabis industry” as selected by the Committee on Committees.”
The Ninth Meeting
On Tuesday, July 13, 2021, the Cannabis Control Board convened to discuss and finalize the consultant services position they seek to help draft their initial rules for the adult-use marketplace along with any changes to the medical program. This meeting lasted a couple of hours in an executive session, meaning the Board convened in private.
The Tenth Meeting
On Thursday, July 15, 2021, the Cannabis Control Board convened to discuss issues surrounding the environment, energy, and land use. The guests invited to speak were numerous and included friend and ally Matt Leonetti of Clean Green and NurseGrown Organics, friend and ally Sam Bromberg of Mountain Fire Farm, TJ Poor, and Barry Murphy, of Vermont Public Safety, Lauren Morlino, and David Westman from Efficiency Vermont, Billy Coster of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Ryan Patch of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, and lastly, Jacob Policzer of The Cannabis Conservancy.
TJ Poor and Barry Murphy of Vermont Public Safety kicked off guest testimonies for the day by detailing the department's energy recommendations for cannabis establishments. They went deep into building and energy standards and covered nuances such as statutory recommendations for greenhouses. Lauren Morlino and David Westman from Efficiency Vermont provided information surrounding the energy demands of cannabis cultivation and reviewed the best practices and statewide incentive programs. Billy Coster of the Agency of Natural Resources and Ryan Patch of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets spoke to cannabis cultivation and cannabis establishments within the context of ANR’s jurisdiction and RAPs. Lastly, the Board heard from our friends and allies Matt Leonetti of Clean Green and NurseGrown Organics, who spoke to the importance of full panel testing and the role of third-party testing, along with Sam Bromberg of Mountain Fire Farm, who spoke eloquently to agricultural designations, zoning, and land use in the context of cultivation.
The Eleventh Meeting
On Thursday, July 22, 2021, the Board convened to discuss the Vermont Hemp Program, fire safety and building codes, lab testing and processing, and extraction. The guests included Cary Giguere and Stephanie Smith of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, Landon Wheeler of the Department of Fire Safety, Thomas Grace and Dr. Carly Farmer of Bia Diagnostics, and Dan Chang of Kria Botanicals. Before jumping into guest testimony, Chair Pepper announced the final members of the Advisory Committee.
Cary Giguere and Stephanie Smith of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets spoke first and together detailed the state hemp program to the Board, including the Cannabis Quality Program and the hemp regulations more broadly. Next Landon Wheeler and Ben Moffatt of the Department of Fire Safety spoke to the current building regulations for hemp establishments. Finally, Thomas Grace and Dr. Carly Farmer of Bia Diagnostics discussed lab certification, testing best practices, and costs associated with testing, and Dan Chang of Kria Botanicals addressed the many challenges and opportunities some of the small to medium-sized, Vermont-based product manufactures and extraction facilities will face in trying to enter the adult-use marketplace.
Note, VGA and our Coalition have expressed objection to commissioners and lawmakers over one of the out-of-state consultants hired, VS Strategies, and two appointments on the Advisory Committee, the member selected by the Vermont Cannabis Trade Association and the member “with expertise in the cannabis industry” as selected by the Committee on Committees. VS Strategies is an affiliate of Vincente Sederberg, a Colorado-based law firm with professional associations with large cannabis corporations, Vermont Cannabis Trade Association is the Vermont-based trade association representing large cannabis corporations, and the member “with expertise in the cannabis industry” sat on the Board of Directors for iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc., a New York-based multi-state operator. In the context of government ethics, the appearance of a conflict of interest, alone, is enough to satisfy a conflict of interest issue and we feel it is inappropriate to have VS Strategies and two individuals on the Advisory Committee with ties to cannabis corporations participate in the initial drafting of our rules. Vermont has far too much in-state cannabis talent and know-how to have to pull from this corner of the industry, we need a uniquely Vermont marketplace and not one influenced by large cannabis corporations.
The Twelfth Meeting
On Thursday, July 29, 2021, the Board convened to discuss highway safety, banking and lending, and receive an update on federal legalization efforts. The guests included Mandy White of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Sergeant Jay Riggen of the Vermont State Police, Robin Joy, JD, PhD of the Crime Research Group, Michael Pieciak of the Department of Financial Regulation, Rob Miller and Greg Huysman of Vermont State Employees Credit Union, and finally Christian Sederberg of Vincente Sederberg LLP.
Mandy White of the Vermont Agency of Transportation started the day’s guest testimonies overviewing the highway safety and crash data for the state of Vermont and the impacts of legalization on impaired driving crashes. Sergeant Jay Riggen of the Vermont State Police spoke next and went into detail discussing the Drug Recognition Expert program and how the State Police determine impairment. Robin Joy, JD, Ph.D. of the Crime Research Group shared the state’s latest criminal justice data and how to measure the impact of retail cannabis on public safety. After Robin spoke, Michael Pieciak of the Department of Financial Regulation and Rob Miller and Greg Huysman of the Vermont State Employees Credit Union discussed current banking and insurance practices as they relate to the cannabis industry. Lastly, Christian Sederberg of Vincente Sederberg LLP shared his perspective on the progress in Washington DC on federal legalization efforts, overviewing the MORE Act, the CARES Act, and the new CAOA bill.
The Thirteenth Meeting
On Thursday, August 11, 2021, the Board convened to draft the Board’s mission and vision statement and publicly introduce the newly selected out-of-state consultant firms, VS Strategies, and the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. The guests included Gina Kranwinkel of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses and Tom Nolasco of J.P. Morgan Investment Banking, who also spoke on behalf of NACB.
Chair Pepper began the meeting by announcing Nellie Marvel has accepted the staff position of Administrative Services Coordinator II, then proceeded to lead a discussion on the mission and vision statement with commissioners Julie Hulburd and Kyle Harris, with Brynn Hare, the executive director, drafting the proposed language for the commissioners to review and approve. Next, the Board introduced the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, with Gina Kranwinkel and Tom Nolasco describing their company, why they were hired, and what to expect with the initial rulemaking process.
The Fourteenth Meeting
On Thursday, August 18, 2021, the Board convened to publicly introduce all 14-members of the Advisory Committee and detail the subcommittee structure and process for initial rulemaking. The guests included Xusana Davis, the Executive Director of Racial Equity for the state of Vermont, and Larry Novins of the Vermont Ethics Commission, and every member of the Advisory Committee along with Tom Nolasco of J.P. Morgan Investment Banking, who also speaks on behalf of National Association of Cannabis Businesses.
After the 14-member Advisory Committee introduced themselves, along with Xusana Davis, the Executive Director of Racial Equity for the state of Vermont, gave an insightful and timely presentation on systemic racism, implicit and explicit biases, and how to proceed with equity as a guiding principle across all areas of the emerging adult-use cannabis marketplace and to not compartmentalize the issue. Larry Novins of the Vermont Ethics Commission followed and gave a talk on the state ethics laws and answered questions from the new members of the Advisory Committee.
Tom Nolasco spoke after Xusana and Larry and went into a lengthy overview of the subcommittee structure and process for initial rule making. Each subcommittee will be composed of members of the Advisory Committee and representatives from NACB and VSS. Sometimes a subcommittee will include a Vermont state employee as a consultant. We cannot overstate the importance of this initial rule making process, it is arguably the most important moment across all of the CCB meetings, to date. What gets developed and approved for rules will have a material impact on all Vermonters, especially to those who wish to participate in the emerging marketplace. The NACB proposed defining the subcommittees to write our rules:
Social Equity
Market Structure
Licensing, Taxes, and Fees
Sustainability
Public Health
Compliance & Enforcement
Medicinal
Product Safety / Lab Testing
Exploratory
Next Steps
Now that the listening portion of the Boards rule making process is over and the drafting of initial rules has begun, we can expect the NACB, VSS, and the Board will convene all 8 subcommittees every Tuesday and Thursday until the October 1, 2021 deadline for the Board to deliver their sweeping recommendations to the legislature. Between now and October 1, there will be a lot of activity and we hope to, not only lobby and influence the process for Vermonters, but will keep you updated with the progress in the coming weeks.