Moorehead: regulated cannabis sales by fall 2026, banking arrangement in place

February 3, 2026. Office of Cannabis Regulation Executive Director Joanne Moorehead committed the Virgin Islands to opening regulated cannabis sales by fall 2026, telling the Virgin Islands Consortium that “we will have regulated cannabis sales in the territory by fall of 2026.” The statement firms up a timeline that had, in Office of Cannabis Regulation communications across 2025, run between “late 2026” and “the 2026 to 2027 high season.”

Cultivation begins first

Moorehead also said that conditional cultivation license holders would begin planting “by the end of February, or the latest, the first part of March.” The Office of Cannabis Regulation has completed status meetings with all approved cultivators, and at least one or two operators on St. Thomas and St. Croix are expected to begin cultivation within four to six weeks of the February 3 statement.

The Office of Cannabis Regulation has conditionally approved 14 Commercial Cultivation Licenses across the territory: eight on St. Croix, five on St. Thomas, and one on St. John. A separate track of 11 Micro Cultivation Permits has also been conditionally approved: five on St. Croix, five on St. Thomas, and one on St. John. Ten Cannabis Dispensary Licenses were conditionally approved on January 16, 2026 and are in build-out and inspection. Under § 777(a)(4) of title 19, cannabis cultivated on one island cannot be moved to another, so each island’s supply depends on that island’s own cultivators.

Banking, the stubborn piece

Cannabis banking has been the operational bottleneck every US jurisdiction faces under federal Schedule I. Canada First Financial announced it will provide the Virgin Islands cannabis industry with pre-operational banking first, and expand to fully operational services once licensees receive their Certificates to Operate. This is the first bank arrangement the Office of Cannabis Regulation has publicly confirmed for the territory. The arrangement does not override federal banking rules; it gives licensed operators a domiciled account partner willing to work within them.

What to watch

Moorehead’s “fall 2026” commitment sets a visible political marker. Every week of delay in the 90-day rulemaking window for the Intoxicating Hemp Retailer License, every pending manufacturing license, and every build-out inspection after January 16 counts against that marker. The legality guide tracks territory-wide status, and individual dispensary timelines are tracked on each conditional licensee’s listing under /dispensaries/.