Cannabis Advisory Board approves tiered cultivation license fees

October 21, 2024. The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board voted unanimously to set Commercial Cultivation License fees on a three-tier scale keyed to the number of plants a grower proposes to cultivate, finalizing the operational fee structure the 2024 Cannabis Rules and Regulations had left to the Board’s discretion. The motion was made by Board Member Richard Evangelista, seconded by Board Member Positive Nelson, and approved with no opposition.

The tiers

• Tier 1: $2,500. 51 to 350 flowering plants, 201 to 1,000 vegetative plants.
• Tier 2: $5,000. 351 to 650 flowering plants, 1,001 to 2,000 vegetative plants.
• Tier 3: $7,500. 651 to 1,000 flowering plants, 2,001 to 3,000 vegetative plants.

The Board also approved a $500 Sacramental Organization Collective Cultivation Permit fee, a category that had been omitted from the first two Fee Schedules the Board approved earlier in 2024. Board Member Nelson moved the $500 figure. A compromise proposal at $750 was discussed and passed over. Collective cultivation under this permit is restricted: the statute requires a minimum of 10 members per sacramental organization, and the organization may not sell any cannabis grown under the permit.

Dispensary fee structure reiterated

In the same Fee Schedule sequence the Board also reconfirmed an earlier August 6, 2024 vote on the Cannabis Dispensary License. The full Dispensary License fee is $25,000, split between an application fee and a full license fee so that unsuccessful applicants are not assessed the entire $25,000 under the statutory rule that all application fees are non-refundable. The Board also matched the Sacramental User fee to the Medical Patient fee at $50 in the August sitting.

Why this is operational, not statutory

The Commercial Cultivation tiers and the Sacramental Organization Collective Cultivation Permit fee are Board-approved operational rates. They are distinct from the license fee block the Legislature added to chapter 34 at §§ 800a through 800h as part of Bill 35-0283 later in 2024. Anyone comparing rates for a business plan should read both the Board Fee Schedules and the statutory fee block together, since the two framings cover different categories and different application phases.

What to watch

Commercial Cultivation License applications opened in early 2025 under these tiers. The operator grow guide covers the plant-count bands and what each tier means for build-out cost, electrical load, and security requirements.