Health officials urge keeping current cannabis serving and packaging limits as industry seeks looser rules

House Human Services heard competing public‑health and industry views on S278, an act relating to cannabis, during testimony focused on packaging, serving sizes, possession limits, advertising and delivery pilots.

Shayla Livingston, interim deputy commissioner at the Vermont Department of Health, told the committee the department wants the bill to retain current single‑serving limits and possession/purchase thresholds. "We would like to see the bill maintain the single serving package limits and not increase those," she said, adding that concentration, serving size and packaging help reduce accidental ingestion and overconsumption.

The Vermont Medical Society and pediatric and family‑medicine groups echoed that position. Jill Sakafar, representing the Vermont Medical Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont chapter and Vermont Family Physicians, said the organizations support the version that preserved advertising restrictions and removed proposed increases to high‑concentrate potency. She warned of youth exposure and emergency‑department impacts, citing that 26% of high‑school students report past‑month cannabis use and that clinicians have treated pediatric ingestions that can require medical attention.

Tony Falland, of the Health Department’s division of substance use, emphasized scale and risk: "If you think about what is 1 ounce of marijuana, we're talking 40 plus" joints, he said, and argued that larger per‑purchase allowances could increase overconsumption risk for people with substance‑use disorders.

Industry witnesses and advocates urged a different approach. Dave Silverman, an attorney who owns Flora Cannabis and directs the Vermont Cannabis Action Fund, said Vermont’s regulated market meets an estimated 68% of total cannabis demand and that potency and price drive remaining purchases in the unregulated market. "Bringing the remaining third of cannabis demand into the regulated market is good for public health," Silverman said, arguing that aligning Vermont’s edible serving standard with the 10 mg national norm would reduce purchases from unregulated sellers and bring consumers into tested, child‑resistant packaging.

Silverman also displayed retail packaging to illustrate child‑resistant designs and said the regulated market’s testing and packaging help reduce accidental ingestions. He acknowledged many retailers oppose the bill’s delivery provisions as currently written and said delivery was not the main factor keeping consumers in the illicit market.

Witnesses and committee members also discussed other bill provisions that aim for regional regulatory harmony and to prepare for potential federal changes, including language that would allow the governor to negotiate interstate‑commerce compacts if specified triggers occur. James Pepper, chair of the Cannabis Control Board, said most changes would be operationally straightforward (updates to guidance and point‑of‑sale systems) but flagged some sections that may require additional board resources or careful rollout, such as event licensing and security requirements.

The hearing surfaced differing interpretations of recent data. Silverman said ER visits for accidental ingestion have decreased since the regulated market opened; Health Department officials cautioned that validated ED data are limited and that one year of surveillance since retail launch is an insufficient basis for major policy shifts. Livingston said health‑department trend data show increases in adult and young‑adult use and that cannabis‑use disorder among 12–17 year olds has risen since legalization; she urged caution before loosening serving or package limits.

No formal votes were taken. The committee said it will forward feedback to the House Government Affairs Committee for further consideration.