Vermont industry urges lawmakers to ease testing, licensing and retail rules to shore up small growers and patients

At a roundtable convened by the Government Operations & Military Affairs committee, cannabis growers, retailers and patient advocates urged lawmakers to change testing rules, licensing fees and retail policies that they said are squeezing small Vermont producers and limiting patient access.

Speakers said the adult-use market's structure — from multi-tiered cultivation licenses and annual product registration to testing requirements and local "opt in" rules for retail — is creating oversupply, high compliance costs and crowded retail markets in towns such as Burlington and Morrisville. They called on legislators to use the forthcoming miscellaneous cannabis bill and rulemaking processes to address those issues.

The case for change: why it matters

Small, outdoor farmers and patient advocates said current policy favors large indoor producers, raises costs for small operators and leaves patients with limited, sometimes pricier, options. "I pay $8,500," said Lieutenant Governor John Rogers, Farmers Underground, describing his outdoor tier-4 license fee. "A good tier 1 grower indoor can grow the same amount of value that I can." Testifiers added that costly, frequent testing and busy product-registration workflows make small operations economically precarious.

What industry and patient witnesses asked for

Testing and product safety: Multiple witnesses asked the Cannabis Control Board and…