Cannabis board reviews first draft of Act 9072 hemp rules, 98 days past OCR's stated April deadline

As of July 31, 2026. The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board reviewed the first draft of regulations for intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoid products at its Thursday, July 30 meeting, according to the St. John Source. The draft reached the board 98 days after April 23, the date Office of Cannabis Regulation Executive Director Joanne Moorehead described at the February 12 board meeting as the end of the agency’s 90-day rulemaking window.

Board Chair Dr. Catherine Kean asked members to send any remaining comments on the draft within 24 to 48 hours so the proposal could move to public comment, per the Source’s account. A 30-day public comment period follows. Members described the draft as thorough and noted that the rules may change as the territory’s regulated industry develops.

What the draft covers

The regulations carry out Act 9072, which Governor Albert Bryan Jr. signed on January 23, 2026. The law made it unlawful to possess, sell, or manufacture THCA, delta-6 THC, delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, and other intoxicating hemp or artificially derived cannabinoid products without a license, and it created a retailer license that has so far existed only on paper.

Two details from Moorehead’s presentation shape what compliance will look like:

• Packaging approval. Product packaging will need OCR sign-off before anything can be sold.
• Shared enforcement. OCR, the Department of Health, and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs will each be able to enforce the rules and pull noncompliant product from shelves.

Anyone working in a licensed business will also need OCR’s responsible vendor training and a cannabis business agent ID card.

Enforcement is already running

The board said the grace period in the law has ended and that intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoid products should not be sold in the territory unless authorized under the new framework. OCR enforcement officers have visited licensed hemp retailers across the islands and collected the inventory reports required from businesses that held covered product during the grace period.

That grace period comes from Act 9079, approved March 26, which replaced Act 9072’s original inventory provision with deadlines for retailers to report and sell off existing stock. The original provision was the one Chief Judge Robert Molloy of the District Court of the Virgin Islands blocked by temporary restraining order on February 25. No ruling in that case has been reported since an April 1 hearing.

Enforcement is running ahead of the rules it enforces. The prohibition has been in force since January 23 and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs halt order since February 17, while the licensed retail track Act 9072 created has not opened.

The license window is separate

The board also confirmed the commercial application cycle that opened July 16 with a September 15 deadline. Applications are filed through the OCR portal at ocr.vi.gov.

• St. Croix: commercial cultivation, dispensary, manufacturing, research and development, micro-cultivation.
• St. Thomas and St. John: cultivation, manufacturing, research and development, micro-cultivation.

The intoxicating hemp retailer license is not part of that window. It cannot be until the rules the board reviewed on July 30 clear public comment and take effect.

What to watch

The 30-day public comment period on the draft hemp rules is the next checkpoint, and OCR had not posted an opening date as of July 31. The agency’s notices page listed nothing dated later than May 20. Commercial license applications close September 15. The CBD and hemp legality guide tracks the rulemaking as it moves.