Governor Bryan signs the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act

Christiansted, St. Croix — January 18, 2023. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. signed the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act into law, making the US Virgin Islands the first US territory to legalize adult-use cannabis by statute rather than ballot initiative. The 34th Legislature passed the bill on December 30, 2022 as Bill 34-0345; the signed act carries the number 8680.

The Act substitutes title 19 of the Virgin Islands Code, chapter 34, in its entirety, folding the prior Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act into a single combined chapter that covers adult, medicinal, and sacramental use under one regulator, the Office of Cannabis Regulation (OCR).

What changes on signing day

Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Act take effect on enactment. Under § 785, an adult 21 or older may possess up to two ounces of cannabis flower, fourteen grams of concentrate, and one ounce of cannabis products. The age threshold of 21 applies to possession, purchase, lounge attendance, employment at a licensed cannabis business, and license ownership.

The Act does not authorize adult-use home cultivation. Only Qualified Patients, registered Sacramental Users, and commercial Micro-Cultivation Permittees may grow plants. Residency is required for patient cultivation.

What does not change on signing day

Retail sales are not legal yet. Section 7 of the Act directs OCR to begin issuing license and permit applications “no later than 12 months after the promulgation of the rules and regulations for this act,” and the Act’s preamble and § 775 frame the system as one built by residents of the Virgin Islands under a license regime still to be written. No dispensaries existed on January 18, 2023, and none exist today.

Public consumption is prohibited under § 807, and inter-island transport is prohibited entirely under § 777. Even after retail opens, cannabis purchased on one island cannot be carried to another: St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John are three legally separate markets.

What to watch

The Act set two regulatory clocks running. OCR had 180 days under § 777(a)(1) to publish its rules, and then 12 more months to open license applications once those rules were promulgated. The Approved Rules and Regulations were signed by the Lieutenant Governor in May 2024, which is the date that started the application clock. The first round of conditional dispensary license awards landed on January 16, 2026.