US Virgin Islands announces legislation on recreational cannabis

U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has announced plans to pass an amendment to legalize recreational cannabis.

If the measure proposed by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. (D) were to pass, the U.S. Virgin Islands would become the third U.S. territory to legalize cannabis, following Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.

«This amendment creates a regulated system, allows tourists [to consume it] and increases tax revenue for the Virgin Islands government,» Bryan said at a press conference, calling cannabis «the new revolution that has taken the country by storm».

The legislature will consider this amendment on December 18, seeing it as an addition to the existing text. to the current medical cannabis program. Medical cannabis was legalized earlier this year, but has yet to be implemented, as appointments to regulatory bodies have stalled in the Legislative Assembly.

If cannabis is legalized, its medical use will not be abolished, and patients will still need to obtain a medical card. Adult consumers will also need to obtain a card in order to purchase or cultivate cannabis from the age of 21.

The proposal calls for the tax revenues generated by cannabis sales to be used to bail out the health system. employee retirement of the failing government (GERS). All cannabis sales would be taxed at 30%.

Governor Albert Bryan acknowledged that the current medical cannabis law would not generate enough revenue for the territory. The governor anticipates $20 million in annual revenue from the new structure.

Tourism is expected to play a role in these revenues. The territory will offer visitors daily «passes». «People come here to relax and vacation,» Bryan said, noting that tourists would be charged $10 a day to take advantage of the legal cannabis system. «We have the products they're used to at home.»

«At our peak, we welcomed 2.1 million visitors in one year,» he said. «With a $10 pass and, say, 10 percent smokers, that's already $2 million a day.»

The amendment also cancels out previous cannabis-related offences. All previous convictions for less than 500g of cannabis will be removed from offenders' criminal records.

Dispensaries will have to sell at least 70% of cannabis from local farms, which would seem to mean that they might be able to produce 30% of their own cannabis.

The bill will recognize the sacramental use of cannabis by the Rastafarian community. It will also allow the Rastafarian community to grow and open cannabis dispensaries.

The neighbouring British Virgin Islands are considering also to legalize cannabis.