Vermont cannabis regulators are recommending several new business license categories while opposing additional product restrictions, according to a legislative report released last week.
The state’s Cannabis Control Board advised lawmakers to create three new license types:
- Delivery services
- Temporary event sales
- On-site consumption establishments
The board also recommended against imposing minimum CBD requirements in cannabis products or additional regulations on paraphernalia sales.
For delivery services, the board envisions stand-alone businesses that would contract with multiple retailers to fulfill orders. The recommendations suggest that those licensees could aggregate deliveries within board-set product limits and use vehicles that are unmarked and secure. The board plans an exclusivity period for social equity applicants for the license category.
“Products and cash in vehicle would be limited and secured during transport,” the report noted, adding that “all purchase limits and ID checks would apply to these transactions.”
The temporary event program would permit cannabis sales and consumption at approved locations in municipalities that have opted into retail sales. Events would require transportation plans and age-restricted areas.
Regarding on-site consumption, the board proposed “café style locations” that could sell cannabis for immediate use, though alcohol sales would be prohibited. Such establishments would need adequate ventilation systems or outdoor screened areas.
The board opposed setting minimum CBD levels in cannabis products, citing insufficient scientific evidence. After reviewing available studies, regulators determined there was not enough data to support imposing such requirements or ratios to prevent cannabis-induced psychosis.
“Prohibiting or limiting products that are popular with consumers without evidence that they are particularly harmful will keep more sales in the illicit market where products are unregulated, untaxed, and not subject to quality control testing,” the report stated.
The state currently licenses 15 tiers of cultivators, three levels of manufacturers, and various retail and testing operations.
Both the delivery and consumption proposals would require legislative approval before implementation. The board recommended rolling out these programs gradually to assess their success before wider deployment. Vermont’s 2025 legislative season kicked off this month, with the session to end in May.
While officials initially forecast $86 million in sales by June 2024, the end of that fiscal year, the market had already reached $128 million by then, according to James Pepper, chair of the Vermont Cannabis Control Board.
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