Overview
Act 164 (2020) is Vermont’s new taxation and regulation law, enacted on October 7, 2020. Governor Phil Scott (R) allowed the bill to become law without his signature and a long list of concerns about racial justice and equitability and accessibility for BIPOC, small businesses, and farms for legislators to revisit in 2021. Vermont had already legalized cannabis in 2018 when Governor Phil Scott signed Act 86, allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of flower, five grams of concentrates, and grow two mature and four immature plants per household, all without establishing a legal marketplace. Act 164 now seeks to create an adult-use marketplace in Vermont with retail shops, cultivation licenses, and much more.
Quick Facts
Bill S.54 is now Act 164 (2020).
Act 164 (2020) was enacted on October 7, 2020.
Adults 21 and older in Vermont may possess up to one ounce at a time.
Dispensaries may open adult-use retail locations and begin to sell cannabis and cannabis-related products on May 1, 2022.
Adults 21 and older will be able to buy up to one ounce of cannabis flower, or one ounce equivalent in cannabis-related products, at a time.
There is no public consumption or lounges, yet.
Vermont has a first-in-the-nation 30% THC cap on flowers and a 60% THC cap on concentrates which will likely drastically impact product selection.
Towns That Approved Retail Sales
77 Vermont towns and cities have successfully approved adult-use cannabis retail sales, in accordance with Act 164 (2020), since the statute was enacted in October 2020.
Alburgh, Barre, Barton, Bennington, Berlin, Bolton, Bradford, Brandon, Brattleboro, Bristol, Brownington, Burke, Burlington*, Cambridge, Cavendish, Chester, Danby, Danville*, Derby, Duxbury, East Burke, Essex Junction, Essex Junction Village, Fair Haven, Fairlee, Fayston, Ferrisburgh, Grand Isle, Hardwick, Hartford, Jamaica, Johnson, Killington, Londonderry, Manchester, Marlboro, Middlebury, Middlesex, Milton, Montgomery, Montpelier, Moretown, Morristown, Newfane, Pawlet, Peacham, Pittsford, Plymouth, Poultney, Pownal, Proctor, Putney, Randolph, Rockingham, Richford, Rutland City, Rutland Town, Saint Albans Town, Saint Johnsbury, Salisbury, Sheldon, South Hero, Springfield, Stockbridge, Stratton, Strafford, Sutton, Vergennes, Waitsfield, Wallingford, Waterbury*, Wilmington, Windsor, Winhall, Winooski, Wolcott, Woodstock Town
*Designates the equal start date ballot language that removes the 5-month head start medical dispensary licensee’s receive under Act 164 (2020).
Do you want to learn more about the retail opt-in process?
Visit the Act 164 Retail Opt-In Guide to learn how to approve adult-use cannabis retail sales in your town.