Vermont Regulators Pause Accepting New Retail Cannabis Licenses

Vermont regulators last week paused accepting new cannabis retail and some cultivation applications, WCAX reports. Cannabis Control Board Chair James Pepper said the decision is meant to curb the “problem of retail saturation.” 

“You can’t get a bank loan to start a cannabis company. You can’t have a line of credit to make ends meet at the end of the month. If you’re short on cash, you don’t have bankruptcy protection. You have to pay exorbitant taxes. You can’t write off the normal business expenses that you would if you were any other business. And so you kind of stack all those up, and it’s a very challenging market.” — Pepper to WCAX 

Pepper told VT Digger that there is a “really unnatural distribution” of retail licenses in the state due, in part, to the number of communities – about 30% – that prohibit their operation. In all, there are more than 80 dispensaries in the state. 

In just under two years, the state has issued just over 90 retail cannabis licenses. Individuals looking to apply for a retail license or tier two cultivation licenses – which allow cultivation up to 2,500 square feet – have until November 15 before the board imposes the pause. 

Since October 2022, only two cannabis retailers have gone out of business in Vermont, the report says. There are 10 dispensary applications still pending.