The Office of Cannabis Regulations announced that they are looking to fill positions for cannabis enforcement investigators and positions in their office at a V.I. Cannabis Advisory Board meeting on Wednesday.
“Ideally the first individuals to be hired will be the enforcement team to send them to post or the training academy. Alternatively, we are seeking those who are already peace officers in the Virgin Islands as that will shorten the time that we would need to bring those individuals on board,” said Executive Director Hannah Carty.
The three positions are for the cannabis enforcement investigator (both districts), an office assistant (either district) and a part-time public information officer (either district). Interested persons may email both their cover letter and resume to info.ocr@ocr.vi.gov by Friday, Dec. 15, to be considered.
Carty also said that on Jan. 18, the Cannabis Act of 2019 was updated. “This was to replace the previous medical cannabis act,” said Carty, who said that the board had three lunch and learn sessions in January and February to address the new law line by line to find issues and concerns that needed to be addressed.
Amendments were drafted by the OCR and submitted to the board and legal counsel team. They were reported to the Legislature for review several times this year, she said.
Carty also said that the board met to “review the registry system” and that the OCR will be discussing the amendments and new changes at the beginning of January so stakeholders can be invited to attend a round table discussion.
In other important updates, Carty said, “We received a legal opinion from the Department of Justice that the Cannabis Advisory board has a quorum and that the membership of its members can continue.” Additionally, they have also vetted some individuals that will be sent to the Legislature for approval in the next month or so.
Dr. Catherine Kean, the board chairwoman, then opened the floor to the board members for questions.
Board member Richard Evangelista asked, “Do you have any solid timeline as to when we will receive the guidelines from the Department of Justice?”
Carty responded, “No we do not have a timeline, but it’s less about the Department of Justice and more about the amendments that need to be processed. The amendments around the zoning inconsistencies, the hemp commission, in how we are going to be able to use our enforcement officers and, most importantly, the fact that adult users will not be able to access dispensaries to make a purchase. They will not be able to make a purchase nor grow at home.”
Later, the board went into an executive discussion.
Nicole A. Craigwell-Syms, Catherine A. Kean, Positive Nelson, Gary Jett, Christopher Jones, Positive Nelson, and Richard T. Evangelista were in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story contained the wrong date for the submission of resumes and applications for jobs with the Office of Cannabis Regulations. It is Dec. 15, not Dec. 22.
