Guam Set to Accept Adult-Use Cannabis License Applications Next Month

The Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation next month will start accepting adult-use cannabis licenses from “responsible officials,” the Pacific Daily News reports. The agency will begin accepting applications on August 29, the first step before the businesses can be licensed and permitted to operate.

Guam legalized broad cannabis use in April 2019 and it is currently legal for adults to grow, possess, and consume cannabis but they cannot trade it for anything of value. 

The general requirements for applicants include: 

• Only a “responsible official” approved by the Cannabis Control Board can submit applications, documents, and reports for a cannabis business, including applying for a license and permit to operate. 
• Responsible officials must be at least 21 years old, own the business, or be responsible for operating the business, and cannot be convicted of manufacturing or distributing Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substances, except for cannabis. 
• The responsible official is accountable for any actions by the business owners, officers, managers, employees, or agents that violate the adult-use cannabis law or industry rules and regulations. 
• Responsible officials must pay a $1,000 fee. 

Revenue and Tax Director Dafne Mansapit Shimizu told the Daily News that government leaders are still trying to navigate the issue of banking for cannabis companies as the territory is beholden to U.S. federal law, which still outlaws cannabis. She indicated Guam’s banking and insurance commissioner is working with the financial industry to determine how banking would move forward.