Acting Governor McCurdy signs the Cannabis Use Act amendments

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas — October 31, 2024. Acting Governor Kevin McCurdy signed Bill 35-0283 into law as Act 8925, amending the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act on behalf of Governor Albert Bryan Jr. Senators Donna Frett-Gregory and Novelle Francis Jr. sponsored the bill, which was introduced June 20, 2024, passed by the 35th Legislature on October 16, 2024, and sealed October 22, 2024. The amendments touch every major section of chapter 34 of title 19 except possession limits and the inter-island transport ban.

What the amendments change

The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board is restructured under the new § 777(b)(1). The voting membership is now four cabinet commissioners (Health, Agriculture, DLCA, and Tourism), a farmer recommended by the Local Food and Farm Council, two healthcare practitioners recommended by the Board of Medical Examiners, a business community member, a disability advocate, a UVI representative, and an economist. The OCR Director sits on the Board ex officio, non-voting. Members serve three-year terms and carry new good-faith immunity, privileged-communication protection, and government-funded defense for claims arising from Board duties.

The non-resident Medical Cannabis Certification Form, which had been valid for six months under the prior framework, now expires after 30 days under the amended § 780(h). The same subsection also settles the “45 days or more” residency phrasing that had appeared inconsistently in §§ 794(j) and 802(b). A non-resident is now unambiguously a person who has lived in the Virgin Islands for fewer than 45 days at the point of sale.

Lounge siting buffers at § 797(m) were significantly relaxed: prior “less than 500 feet” and “less than 1,000 feet” separation rules are replaced with “within 250 feet.” Home cultivation distance at § 779(d)(4) received the same treatment. The age threshold at § 783(b) was corrected from “18” to “21,” cleaning up an orphan reference left over from the medical-era statute. Micro-Cultivation Permits are now explicitly non-transferable under § 790(b)(2).

What the amendments do not change

Adult possession under § 785 remains two ounces of flower, 14 grams of concentrate, and one ounce of cannabis products. The $20 non-resident Cannabis Fee at § 802(b), the 18 percent sales tax at § 802(a), the per-island license caps at § 787, the 10-of-15-years residency rule for license ownership at § 776(xxx), and the expungement framework in Section 3 of Act 8680 all carry forward unchanged. The prohibition on inter-island transport of cannabis at § 777(a)(4) is untouched. St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John remain three legally separate markets.

What to watch

Act 8925 also introduces the §§ 800a through 800h license-fee block that the Office of Cannabis Regulation cites in its conditional-license notices. The Office of Cannabis Regulation would complete its merit-based review of dispensary applications under that framework over the following 14 months.