Cannabis Control Board Update

The Cannabis Control Board recently announced it will need a bit more time to deliver its final recommendations to legislators, understandably so, the eight subcommittees are beginning to wrap up their work, lead by two out-of-state consultant firms, VS Strategies, the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, and members of the Advisory Committee, all of which will bring to a close the initial rulemaking process later this month.

“The work that comes out of each subcommittee is not the work of the CCB, it is the work of VS Strategies, the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, and members of the Advisory Committee. The CCB is tasked with developing its own recommendations, separate from the subcommittees, and legislators will receive all final recommendations, those from each subcommittee, the CCB, and any outside groups, like VGA and the Vermont Cannabis Equity Coalition and friends.”

There’s been a lot of reporting on the recent work that came out of the Cannabis Control Board’s Market Structure subcommittee, but what does that work mean? What is happening in each of the other eight subcommittees, and what are the remaining steps in the initial rulemaking process? Below we breakdown the rulemaking process as well as each subcommittee and their work.

The Process

According to Act 164 (2020), the CCB was to deliver their final recommendations, or “sweeping recommendations” to legislators by April 1, 2021. Then bill S.25, which was enacted this year as Act 62 (2021), modified and fragmented that April 1 deadline into different deadlines for different proposals. Now the CCB is to deliver their final recommendations on licensing, fees, social equity, and other essential rules by October 1, 2021, with THC caps and other miscellaneous recommendations due November 1, 2021. The other week the CCB announced they will miss the October 1 deadline and now seek to deliver their work by October 15.

What is the role of the subcommittees? Each of the eight subcommittees – Social Equity, Market Structure, Sustainability, Public Health, Compliance & Enforcement, Medicinal, Product Safety and Lab Testing, and Exploratory – are tasked with delivering their final recommendations to the CCB for consideration in drafting their own proposal. The work that comes out of each subcommittee is not the work of the CCB, it is the work of VS Strategies, the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, and members of the Advisory Committee. The CCB is tasked with developing its own recommendations, separate from the subcommittees, and legislators will receive all final recommendations, those from each subcommittee, the CCB, and any outside groups, like VGA and the Vermont Cannabis Equity Coalition and friends.

Social Equity Subcommittee

The Social Equity subcommittee is lead by Gina Kranwinkel and Geoffrey Gallegos of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. This group is tackling the design of a social equity program, its application process, criteria for eligibility, and more. The first few subcommittee meetings were spent defining parameters to measure harm caused by cannabis prohibition, looking at impacted areas in Vermont and what qualifies someone as a social equity applicant. The subcommittee talked about including a residency requirement as a criteris for eligibility, which didn’t stick, and identified the following criteria, so far: 1) Lives in an Opportunity Zone; 2) Member of BIPOC/minority race/ethnicity 3) Convicted of cannabis-related offense – that is, have personally been arrested, convicted or incarcerated for a cannabis offense (misdemeanor or felony), or are a member of an impacted family. The application fees and licensing fees will be waived the first year, for eligible applicants, and reduced for subsequent years. Read the entire draft proposal (PDF) from the Social Equity subcommittee.

Market Structure Subcommittee

The Market Structure subcommittee is lead by Dan Smith of VS Strategies, and Tom Nolasco, Mark Gorman, Geoffrey Gallegos of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. This group is tackling the licensing structure, its fees, application process, and more. The first few subcommittee meetings were lead by Andrew Livingston, of VS Strategies, to develop a supply and demand model and analysis for Vermonts emerging adult-use and medical markets. This modeling determined that, about, 300,000 sqft of flowering canopy was needed to satisfy Vermont’s market demand, accounting for out-of-state travelers, seasonality, and more. VGA suggested the actual canopy size in Vermont is currently over 500,000, by our own analysis, and if the assumptions are not as accurate as they can be we will risk failing to transition legacy market businesses into the legal market, and VS Strategies revised it’s model to account for more canopy. As of today, the Market Structure subcommittee is the only subcommittee that delivered its final proposal to the CCB, which you may read in its entirety (PDF). Note, this is not a final market structure proposal by the CCB.

Sustainability Subcommittee

The Sustainability subcommittee is lead by Jacob Policzer, of The Cannabis Conservancy, and Liam Gilbertson of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. This group is taking on energy and water usage, waste stream issues for cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and labs, packaging, zoning and more. This subcommittee began its work by defining what sustainable cultivation means, first by looking at other states, then by considering what Vermont may already be doing or have regulations for, such as the hemp program. Stephanie Smith, Advisory Committee member, subcommittee member, and Cannabis Quality Control Policy Administrator of the Vermont Hemp Program has been leading conversations with Jacob Policzer on composting, land use, compliance with the state Required Agricultural Practices, and how to best navigate those issues for the emerging marketplace. Read the entire draft proposal (PDF) from the Sustainability subcommittee.

Public Health Subcommittee

The Public Health subcommittee is lead by Deneka Scott and Mark Gorman of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. This group is tackling advertising, packaging, labeling, elements of product manufacturing, and education. The first few subcommittee meetings were spent looking at what other states do for advertising and marketing rules and guidelines, including warnings statements for packaging and labeling, the process to approve licensee material for public use, along with oversight of edibles and food-relate products. The subcommittee has talked about including child resistant requirements for packaging, advertising that does not appeal to minors, THC warning symbols for the state, and prohibiting things like health, and medical claims, which isn’t terribly unique from hemp and hemp-relate guidelines. Read the entire draft proposal (PDF) from the Public Health subcommittee.

Compliance & Enforcement Subcommittee

The Compliance and Enforcement subcommittee is lead by Ashley Manning, Mark Gorman, and Tom Nolasco of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. This subcommittee is addressing security, municipal ordinances, seed to sale tracking, compliance with cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and labs operations. Similar to the Sustainability subcommittee, the Compliance and Enforcement subcommittee began its work by looking at compliance in other states, then considered what Vermont may already be doing or have regulations for, such as the Department of Liquor and Lottery the hemp program. Read the latest notes (PDF) from the Compliance and Enforcement subcommittee.

Medical Subcommittee

The Medical subcommittee is lead by Tom Nolasco of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. This group is tackling continuity of services for the current medical cannabis program, program funding, and addressing the issues of affordability, access, and quality for registered patients and caregivers. This subcommittee began its work by discussing Vermont’s current medical cannabis program, called, the Vermont Marijuana Registry, ways to improve the program for patients and caregivers, and the makeup and responsibilities of the future medical oversight committee. Read the latest notes (PDF) from the Medical subcommittee.

Product Safety & Lab Testing Subcommittee

The Product Safety & Lab Testing subcommittee is lead by Cary Giguere of the Vermont Agency on Agriculture, Farms, and Markets and Kim Watson of Stone Environmental. This group is developing standards for testing, sampling processes, lab standard operating procedures, certifications, and more. This subcommittee began its work by looking at Oregon and other state's testing regulations and procedures, then compared and contrasted with Vermont's hemp program. Read the latest notes (PDF) from the Product Safety & Lab Testing subcommittee

Exploratory Subcommittee

This is a unique subcommittee, it has not met once, yet it is defined in the structure for the CCB’s subcommittees. This committee is to be lead by the Board, itself, and is tasked with tackling new ideas not found in Act 164 of 62, such as farm direct sales and delivery licensing. It is not clear what will become of this subcommittee, or if they will convene, but we will continue to monitor the situation surrounding this one.

Conclusion & Grassroots Unity

As months march on, since the initial forming of the (still new) Cannabis Control Board, it has become evident local advocates in the Vermont cannabis community are truly beginning to unify around clear principles of equity, accessibility, fairness, and affordability, for, both, the adult-use and the medical markets. No other group of advocates has attended the weekly CCB subcommittee meetings, and engaged in nuanced and intimate advocacy work as much as the Vermont Cannabis Equity Coalition and friends, which includes Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, Justice For All, NOFA-VT, Trace VT, Rural Vermont, Vermont Growers Association, the Vermont Cannabis Nurses Association. Why is this important? Unity is absolutely vital to grassroots success and effecting change with policymakers.