MONTPELIER — Cannabis regulators will revisit purchase limit guidance after hearing criticism about a proposed system from the industry.
They withdrew their previous proposal, with hopes of getting input from the Legislature, and reinstituted the 8,400-milligram equivalence cap at a meeting on Wednesday. The issue is expected to come back up in July.
Cannabis Control Board Chairman James Pepper apologized for "the anxiety and consternation that our draft guidance has caused."
"Setting aside the policy about whether there should or shouldn't be transaction limits, I certainly understand the concern around the rollout of the guidance," he said. "We are working to refine our internal processes to ensure that our decision making is predictable and transparent and that we give plenty of lead time to the industry and other interested parties so that they can provide input and prepare for any significant changes to the market structure."
Pepper said he wants to express "genuine gratitude to everyone who's taken the time to explain the impact of that proposal and helped us think through alternative approaches." He also thanked the CCB's compliance team, which he said "spent a lot of time with this policy over the past few weeks and months."
Implementation, originally set for Jan. 10, was delayed for the Cannabis Control Board to receive input and make adjustments. Transaction limits are required by law.
Product types were going to be listed with corresponding points. The system would be used to calculate mixed sales limits, with the maximum volume of a single purchase totaling 100 points.
Retailers had described implementation being unrealistic, and a hardship for staff to explain and customers to understand. Medical patients spoke of not wanting to have to make extra trips to pick up their products.
"Discussion is not as straightforward as one might think," Pepper said. "There are a number of states that have a purchase limit for product equivalencies, and they have all come down differently on what the THC cap should be."
Vermont's limit has been "more generous than so many other states," Pepper said.
Board member Kyle Harris described the coupling of practicality with science and math as challenging.
"I think one of the things I've learned through a lot of conversations is averages can be a little bit misleading, depending on location, depending on the client or the customer," Harris said. "Cannabis isn't necessarily set up for these bulk sales ... but that doesn't mean that those sales should necessarily be discounted."