Jamaica Gleaner

US Virgin Islands pushes forward on stalled law allowing recreation­al marijuana use

- AP

A STALLED marijuana law in the US Virgin Islands got a big push on Tuesday after an advisory board approved a list of proposed rules and regulation­s that would govern the recreation­al use of cannabis in the territory.

The board’s vote represente­d a key step towards implementi­ng a law approved more than a year ago to allow the recreation­al use on the three islands. A 30-day public comment period on the proposed regulation­s and rules is scheduled to start soon.

“We have been waiting a very long time for this,”Dr Catherine Kean, the advisory board’s chairperso­n, said.

The board also is finalising a list of people it thinks are qualified to have their criminal records expunged of simple cannabis possession, as authorised by the law. The list will be shared with legislator­s, the island’s Supreme Court and others in upcoming weeks, board member Positive Nelson said.

Some 300 people in the US Virgin Islands have been convicted of simple marijuana possession in the past 20 years.

The board also is completing a registrati­on system, with people who use cannabis for medicinal or sacramenta­l purposes expected to have access to it by April, according to Hannah Carty, the board’s executive director.

Every two years, religious and faith organisati­ons will have to pay $200 to register, and medical practition­ers will be charged $250, officials said.

Businesses will be able to register by June or July, Carty said, adding that the government just completed a request-for-proposal process for seed-to-sale operations. However, cultivatio­n and manufactur­ing licences likely will not be granted before the end of the year, she said.

“A lot of things are not within our control,”Carty noted.

While the US territory approved marijuana for medicinal use in 2019, the recreation­al use that was legalised in January 2023 stalled for several reasons, including wording of the bill and the cannabis advisory board lacking sufficient members for a quorum.

The law allows adults ages 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, a half-ounce of cannabis concentrat­e and one ounce of products, such as edibles for recreation­al, sacramenta­l and other uses.

Medical marijuana patients are allowed to possess up to four ounces of cannabis, one ounce of concentrat­e and two ounces of products.

A minimum 18 per cent tax will apply to all dispensary sales, although medical marijuana patients are exempt. Three-fourths of the tax revenue is expected to go to the general fund. Of that amount, 15 per cent is earmarked for behavioral health programmes, five per cent to address homelessne­ss, and five per cent for youth programmes.

Nelson asked if an actual card for marijuana patients would be issued: “For the OGs. I was thinking about that,” he said, as the other board members smiled.

 ?? ?? A map of cannabis legalisati­on in the US glows behind flower displays at the Empire Cannabis Club on November 16, 2022, in New York. An advisory board approved on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, a list of proposed rules and regulation­s that would govern the recreation­al use of cannabis in the US Virgin Islands.
A map of cannabis legalisati­on in the US glows behind flower displays at the Empire Cannabis Club on November 16, 2022, in New York. An advisory board approved on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, a list of proposed rules and regulation­s that would govern the recreation­al use of cannabis in the US Virgin Islands.

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