Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 25 - CANNABIS CONTROL BOARD › Sub-Agency 000 - GENERAL › Chapter 001 - RULE 1: LICENSING OF CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS › Section 25 000 001 - RULE 1: LICENSING OF CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS

Current through June, 2024
1.
Rule  1: Licensing of Cannabis Establishments
Not every applicable prohibition, restriction, and requirement is contained in this rule. All Cannabis Establishments must abide by the prohibitions, restrictions, and requirements of Chapter 33, Title 7 of the Vermont Statutes. Cannabis Establishments must also abide by all other applicable laws, including but not limited to worker's compensation laws and tax laws.
Section  1.1 General Provisions.
1.1.1 Authority
The Cannabis Control Board adopts this rule pursuant to   7 V.S.A. §§
													881,  883, 884, 901,  902,  903,   Section 8 of Act 164 (2020), and other applicable law.
1.1.2 Scope and Purpose
The Board is charged with implementing and regulating a legal market for Cannabis in Vermont. This rule regulates the licensing of Cannabis Establishments.
1.1.3 Definitions
All definitions in   7 V.S.A. §
													861 shall apply to this rule. The following definitions shall also apply:
(a) "Commercial bank" has the same meaning as defined in   8 V.S.A. §
													11101(15).
(b) "Entity" means any person, as defined in   7 V.S.A. §
													861(23), that is not a natural person.
(c) "Flammable Solvent" means a liquid that has a flash point below 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
(d) "Greenhouse" means a structure or a thermally isolated area of a building that maintains a specialized sunlit environment exclusively for, and essential to, the cultivation or maintenance of Cannabis plants and that is in use for a period of 180 days or more each calendar year.
(e) "Home occupancy business" means a business operated on the premises of an individual's home or property where the individual is domiciled.
(f) "Indoor cultivation" means growing Cannabis using artificial lighting.
(g) "Interest holder" has the same meaning as defined in   11A V.S.A. §
													11.01(11).
(h) "Inventory Tracking System" means a method implemented by the Board for tracing all Cannabis and Cannabis Products grown, manufactured, and sold in Vermont.
(i) "Licensee" means a person who has been issued a license pursuant to this rule. A licensee does not include a person who has been issued a prequalification approval.
(j) "Outdoor cultivation" means growing Cannabis in a manner that does not use artificial lighting, provided that outdoor cultivators may use the minimum amount of artificial lighting necessary to keep photoperiod plants in a vegetative state. Artificial lighting for outdoor cultivation must not extend beyond May 1st in a calendar year or past when the specific cultivar can sustain vegetative growth under natural sunlight, whichever comes first.
(k) "Physical site of operations" means:
i. A cultivator's grow site,
ii. A wholesaler's product storage facility,
iii. A manufacturer's site of manufacture,
iv. A retailer's store location, or
v. A testing laboratory's testing facility.
(l) "Prequalification approval" means a certification issued by the Board, in accordance with this rule, prior to a person's approval as a licensee. A prequalification approval does not permit the recipient to operate a Cannabis Establishment.
(m) "Social equity applicant" means either a "social equity individual applicant" or a "social equity business applicant" as those terms are defined in this rule.
(n) "Social equity individual applicant" means an individual who is a resident of Vermont and who meets one or more of the following criteria:
i they are a socially disadvantaged individual, as defined below,
ii they have been incarcerated in a jail or prison facility subsequent to sentencing for a cannabis-related offense, or
iii they have a family member who has been incarcerated in a jail or prison facility subsequent to sentencing for a cannabis-related offense.
1 For the purposes of this definition, "family member" shall mean the following: a spouse, domestic partner (as defined in   17 V.S.A. §
															2414(e)(1)), child, step-child who resided with the family member when the child was a minor, minor in their guardianship, legal guardian, parent, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild.
(o) "Social equity business applicant" means:
i A corporation, partnership, or other business entity that meets the federal standards for Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) as set forth in 49 C.F.R. §§
														26.69 and  26.71, except as provided in subdivision (1) of this   subsection 1.1.3(o)(i), even if the entity has not applied for any federal DBE programs. In determining whether a business applicant meets the federal standards for DBEs, the Board will consider only participants in the business who meet the definition of socially disadvantaged individual as defined by section  1.1.3(p)(i)   of this rule and who are residents of Vermont.
1 The requirements of subparts 49 C.F.R. §
															26.69(b)(1), (2), and (3) shall not apply to this subsection (o). The majority-interest requirement of 49 C.F.R. §
															26.69(b) itself shall apply.
ii A corporation, partnership, or other business entity that is at least 51% owned by a social equity individual applicant as defined in   subsection 1.1.3(n)(ii) and (iii) of this rule.
(p) "Socially disadvantaged individual" is an individual who meets at least one of the following criteria:
i They meet the criteria for social disadvantage as set forth in the following federal regulations regarding DBEs: 49 C.F.R. §
														26.67(a)(1) and (b)(2)-(3) to the extent permitted in   subdivision 1.1.3(p)(i)(1) of this section, whether or not they have applied for any DBE programs, provided that no person shall be excluded from this definition because of their citizenship or immigration status.
1 For the purposes of this rule, the rebuttable presumption in
49 C.F.R. §
																26.67(a)(1)
shall be applied only to Black Americans and Hispanic Americans.
ii They are (1) from a community that has historically been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition and (2) able to demonstrate to the Board that they were personally harmed by the disproportionate impact. In assessing this personal harm, the Board may consider factors such as educational impacts, lost employment opportunities, or housing insecurity.
1 For the purposes of this subsection, "community" includes, but is not limited to, a person who resided for the majority of their youth prior to turning 18 in a household that was eligible for Federal Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) benefits or that received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or currently resides in a household that is eligible for FDPIR or that receives SNAP benefits. For the purposes of this subsection, community does not mean professional or civic associations, social organizations, clubs, advocacy organizations, or hobbyist groups. A prior association with cannabis is not, by itself, sufficient to constitute a community.
1.1.4 Applicability
This rule applies to:
(a) Persons who engage in the transfer or sale of Cannabis or Cannabis Products, including transfers or sales related to cultivating, manufacturing, wholesaling, or retailing Cannabis or Cannabis Products, except that this rule does not apply to activities regulated by Chapters 35 and 37 of Title 7 of the Vermont statutes and by Rule  3   of the Board's rules. This rule also applies to those who provide laboratory testing services to persons who engage in the transfer or sale of Cannabis or Cannabis Products.
(b) Persons who engage in the transfer or sale of synthetic cannabinoids and potentially intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids, including delta-8 and delta-10 tetrahydrocannabinol.
1.1.5 Time
(a) In computing any time period, measured in days, that is established or allowed by this rule or by order of the Board or Chair:
(1) the day of the act or event that triggers the period shall be excluded;
(2) every day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be counted;
(3) the last day of the period shall be counted, but if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
(b) A "legal holiday" means:
(1) any day declared a holiday by the President or Congress of the United States; and
(2) any day declared a holiday by the State of Vermont.
1.1.6 Severability
If any portion of this rule is found to be invalid, the remaining portion of the rule shall remain in force and effect.