Vermont has officially begun to roll out the plan to set up businesses in its retail cannabis industry.
After many towns in the state decided to opt in, the Vermont Cannabis Control Board met with community members on Zoom to begin rolling out their plan on Monday.
The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) says they already have received 395 applications for pre-qualification, including applications for cultivators, testing facilities, and product manufacturers.
The Board plans to launch an online portal for applications on April 1, starting with smaller cultivators, or “tier one applicants.”
For these cultivators, they would be looking to use up to 1,000 square feet of plant canopy, either inside, outside or mixed. Cultivators in this category could pay anywhere from $750 to $2,250 for the license.
Online applications for tiers 2-5 will begin on May 1st.
“I think I’m really just very excited to walk into a retail store for the first time this fall, and just buy my friends’ cannabis products and see all of the things they’ve been putting so much work into,” said Monica Donovan, CEO of Heady Vermont.
First, social equity groups, which include Black- and Latino-owned businesses, or businesses where owners can show they’ve experienced a disproportionate impact from previous cannabis regulations.
Second, the expedited tier, will include minority groups such as women-owned or LGBTQ-owned businesses.
The third is the remaining general public.
“If you are a women-owned business, a veteran-owned business, then there is a benefit to identifying that in your application process,” said James Pepper, Chair of the Cannabis Control Board.
