Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board (VICAB)
What VICAB is, who sits on it, and what it does for the US Virgin Islands cannabis program.
The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board, VICAB for short, is the public-private board that advises the Office of Cannabis Regulation and recommends rules and policy for the territory’s cannabis program. It was established under the Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act and continues under Act 8680, which consolidated the USVI’s medical and adult-use cannabis framework in January 2023.
What VICAB does
VICAB is the standing deliberative body for cannabis policy in the Virgin Islands. Its work includes:
- Reviewing and recommending rules drafted by the OCR before they are promulgated.
- Meeting in public session and submitting reports to the Legislature.
- Recommending policy responses to market conditions, enforcement gaps, and federal developments.
- Advising on research and workforce development partnerships with the University of the Virgin Islands.
VICAB does not issue licenses. That authority rests with the OCR Director. VICAB is the venue where the rules that shape the licenses are debated.
Composition
Under Act 8680 § 777, VICAB has eleven voting members plus the OCR Director as ex officio, non-voting. The voting seats are drawn from specific public and private sector constituencies:
- One Farming Representative
- One Expert in Cannabis Technology
- One Economist
- One University of the Virgin Islands Representative
- One Department of Health Representative
- Three Health Care Practitioners, including one pharmacist
- One Department of Agriculture Representative
- One Disability Advocate
- One Naturopathic Medicine Representative
Members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature. Bill 35-0283 updated the term structure: the three-year term for members appointed under the original Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act began anew on January 18, 2023, the enactment date of Act 8680.
Meetings
VICAB is required to meet at least quarterly and to take testimony and public comment on proposed rules. The statute assigns notice and minutes to OCR. In practice, the agency’s news archive has carried no meeting notice since November 26, 2025, and what is known about recent sittings has come from local coverage rather than from a posted agenda or a set of minutes.
The Board met on July 30, 2026 and reviewed the first draft of the regulations Act 9072 requires for intoxicating hemp and artificially derived cannabinoid products. Board Chair Dr. Catherine Kean asked commissioners to submit any remaining comments within 24 to 48 hours so the proposal could move to public comment, according to the St. John Source. OCR published that draft in August 2026 and opened comment on it. As of August 10, 2026, no agenda, minutes, or readout had been posted for the Board’s previous meeting on June 25, 2026.
The Board met again on September 24, 2026, after public comment on the hemp draft closed September 15. It voted two amendments to the draft. The first lets intoxicating hemp retailers sell during their ordinary business hours instead of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The second keeps transport procedures with OCR but requires 90 days’ notice to licensees before any material change. The Board did not vote to adopt the full draft. At the same meeting OCR announced the territory’s first commercial cultivation Certificate to Operate, issued to a Tier 1 grower on St. Croix. Full meeting coverage.
Where VICAB sits in the broader structure
- Legislature. Writes the statute (Act 8680, Act 9072, any future amendments).
- Office of Cannabis Regulation. Runs the program day to day under the statute and the approved rules.
- Cannabis Advisory Board (VICAB). Reviews and recommends rules to the OCR. Takes public comment. Reports to the Legislature.
- Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA). Parent agency of the OCR. Issues business licenses and carries out DLCA-side enforcement, including the halt order on intoxicating hemp products under Act 9072.
- Department of Health. Handles medical cannabis patient certifications and shares quality-control responsibility with OCR on testing.
What to watch
- The next VICAB meeting, scheduled for October 22, 2026. No public agenda has been posted.
- VICAB’s vote to adopt the intoxicating hemp rules as amended on September 24. The rules cannot take effect until the Board acts, the Governor approves them, and they are published under 3 V.I.C. § 936.
- A matching change to cannabis dispensary hours, which OCR asked the Board to take up so hemp and cannabis sales run on the same schedule.
- Any new Governor-appointed members submitted to the Legislature for confirmation.