The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 7 : Alcoholic Beverages, Cannabis, and Tobacco

Chapter 035 : Medical Cannabis Registry

• § 952. Registry

  (a) The Board shall establish and manage the Vermont Medical Cannabis Registry for the purpose of allowing persons with qualifying medical conditions and their caregivers to obtain privileges regarding cannabis and cannabis product possession, use, cultivation, and purchase.

  (b) A person who is a registered patient or a registered caregiver on behalf of a patient may:

  (1) Cultivate not more than six mature and 12 immature cannabis plants. Any cannabis harvested from the plants shall not count toward the two-ounce possession limit in subdivision (2) of this subsection, provided it is stored in an indoor facility on the property where the cannabis was cultivated and reasonable precautions are taken to prevent unauthorized access to the cannabis.

  (2) Possess not more than two ounces of cannabis.

  (3) Purchase cannabis and cannabis products at a licensed medical cannabis dispensary. Pursuant to chapter 37 of this title, a dispensary may offer goods and services that are not permitted at a cannabis establishment licensed pursuant to chapter 33 of this title.

  (c)(1) Individual names and identifying information about patients and caregivers on the Registry are exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act and shall be kept confidential. Notwithstanding 1 V.S.A. § 317(e), the Public Records Act exemption created in this subsection shall continue in effect and shall not be repealed through operation of 1 V.S.A. § 317(e).

  (2) In response to a person-specific or property-specific inquiry by a law enforcement officer or agency made in the course of a bona fide investigation or prosecution, the Board may verify the identities and registered property addresses of the registered patient and the patient’s registered caregiver. The law enforcement officer or agency shall keep confidential any identities and addresses received pursuant to this subdivision.

  (d) The Board shall establish an application process through rulemaking. The Board shall approve or deny the application for registration in writing within 30 days from receipt of a completed registration application.

  (e)(1) A person who is 21 years of age or older who applies to be a registered patient shall provide the Board with a Health Care Professional Verification Form as required pursuant to rules adopted by the Board.

  (2) A person who is under 21 years of age who applies to be a registered patient shall provide the Board with a Health Care Professional Verification Form from a health care professional who has a treating or consulting relationship of not less than three months’ duration with the applicant, in the course of which the health care professional has completed a full assessment of the applicant’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination. The three-month requirement shall not apply if:

  (A) an applicant has been diagnosed with:

  (i) a terminal illness;

  (ii) cancer; or

  (iii) acquired immune deficiency syndrome;

  (B) an applicant is currently under hospice care;

  (C) an applicant had been diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition by a health care professional in another jurisdiction in which the applicant had been formerly a resident and the patient, now a resident of Vermont, has the diagnosis confirmed by a health care professional in this State or a neighboring state as permitted by subdivision 951(5)(B) of this title, and the new health care professional has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination;

  (D) a patient who is already on the Registry changes health care professionals three months or less prior to the renewal of the patient’s registration, provided the patient’s new health care professional has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination;

  (E) an applicant is referred by the patient’s health care professional to another health care professional who has completed advanced education and clinical training in specific qualifying medical conditions, and that health care professional conducts a full assessment of the applicant’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination; or

  (F) an applicant’s qualifying medical condition is of recent or sudden onset. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. March 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 65, § 17, eff. June 14, 2023; 2023, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 7a, eff. June 10, 2024.)