People who use cannabis as part of their religious practices can take the first steps to legal usage, officials announced Wednesday.
The Virgin Islands Office of Cannabis Regulations said it had opened a registry on its website that supported the licensing and registration of sacramental organizations and users, as well as medical professionals.
Eventually, this same website would also support medicinal patients and cannabis business agents.
“This online portal will ensure that the Office of Cannabis Regulations will meet the regulatory guidelines of the program and ensure timely responses to submitted applications,” according to a release from the office.
For now, however, the registry was only open for practitioner and sacramental organization registrations.
The Cannabis Office defines a practitioner as a person who is licensed and in good standing in the Virgin Islands as a medical doctor, osteopath, naturopath, homeopath, chiropractor, or practitioner’s assistant. A sacramental organization or user is someone over 21 who is a member of an organized religion or faith that is incorporated under Title 13 of the Virgin Islands Code who use cannabis in the sincere exercise of their religion or faith.
Officials at the Cannabis Office estimated business agents could register in June or July.
They also plan a series of four “fireside chats” aimed at sharing information about the cannabis industry.
“These informal conversations endeavor to increase stakeholder involvement at the regulatory level and incorporate dialogue and feedback at various points in the roll out of the program,” according to a written statement from the office.
The Zoom meetings were scheduled for practitioners on Jan. 25, sacramental organizations on Feb. 1, medicinal patients on Feb. 15, and sacramental users of cannabis on Feb. 29 — all at 6 p.m. Registration for the meeting was not required and can be accessed at this case sensitive link: bit.ly/OCR-Fireside.
Future “Fireside Chats” will incorporate more stakeholders from various groups.
