Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo has approved the island’s medical cannabis rules and regulations after more than three years of legal and political wrangling, Pacific Daily News reports. Medical cannabis was legalized on the U.S. territory in 2014; however, the measure did not include infrastructure regulations, rendering the legalization measure moot.
The rules require seed-to-sale tracking and product testing and allow reciprocity with other U.S. states’ and territories’ medical cannabis programs. The reciprocity is expected to make the system more affordable by increasing the number of participants and encouraging investment.
According to the bill creating the industry, medical cannabis business operators must be a resident of the island for at least three years and the majority of the business must be owned by a legal resident. Three types of cultivation licenses are available – a Type 1, which allows a 2,500 square foot canopy on a single location; a Type 2, which allows between 2,501 and 5,000 square feet of canopy; and a Type 3, which allows 5,001 to 10,000 square feet of canopy per premises. Application fees for all businesses run $1,000.
The Department of Public Health and Social Services indicated that the testing laboratory – which is expected to be run by the department – could setback the program as it carries a price tag of at least $1 million. The former director of that department, James Gillan, quit earlier this month because he said the medical cannabis program was imposed on the agency without resources or funding.
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