US Virgin Islands pushes forward on stalled law allowing recreational marijuana use

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A stalled marijuana law in the United States Virgin Islands got a big push Tuesday after an advisory board approved a list of proposed rules and regulations that would govern the recreational use of cannabis in the territory.

The board's vote represented a key step toward implementing a law approved more than a year ago to allow the recreational use on the three islands.

A 30-day public comment period on the proposed regulations and rules is scheduled to start soon.

“We have been waiting a very long time for this,” Dr Catherine Kean, the advisory board's chairperson, said.

The board also is finalising a list of people it thinks are qualified to have their criminal records expunged of simple cannabis possession, as authorised by the law.

The list will be shared with legislators, the island's Supreme Court and others in upcoming weeks, board member Positive Nelson said.

Some 300 people in the US Virgin Islands have been convicted of simple marijuana possession in the past 20 years.

The board also is completing a registration system, with people who use cannabis for medicinal or sacramental purposes expected to have access to it by April, according to Hannah Carty, the board's executive director.

Every two years, religious and faith organisations will have to pay $200 to register, and medical practitioners will be charged $250, officials said.

Businesses will be able to register by June or July, Carty said, adding that the government just completed a request-for-proposal process for seed-to-sale operations.

However, cultivation and manufacturing licenses likely will not be granted before the end of the year, she said.

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