The V.I. Office of Cannabis Regulations has officially unveiled an online portal aimed at facilitating the licensing and registration process for various entities within the marijuana industry.
This step forward is in accordance with the regulatory guidelines set forth by the program, ensuring efficient handling of applications and compliance with statutory requirements.
The registry, accessible through the OCR website, is currently open only for practitioners and sacramental organizations, with specific submission requirements outlined for each category. A phased rollout of registration access for other categories of users is planned. According to OCR, patients and sacramental users of marijuana will be allowed to register in April, with marijuana business agents to follow in June or July of this year.
The OCR says this timeline aligns with the requirement to initiate programming on cannabis within one year of the territory’s Cannabis Use Act, which was signed into law on January 18 2023. Further details on the program's development will be disclosed as they become available.
In conjunction with the launch of the registry, OCR has announced a series of “Fireside Chats”. Over the duration of four sessions, the series is designed to foster open conversations involving key stakeholders in the marijuana industry. The aim is to enhance stakeholder participation at the regulatory level, providing a platform for dialogue and feedback throughout the program's implementation.
Each “Fireside Chat” will be conducted as virtual meetings for specific cohorts on specific dates: practitioners on January 25, sacramental organizations on February 1, medicinal patients on February 15, and sacramental users of marijuana on February 29. Each meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Future iterations of the online discussions will involve a broader spectrum of stakeholders from diverse groups.
