Vermont Marijuana Regulators Set September 30 Deadline for New Product Equivalencies and Transaction Limits
- Vermont increased the transaction limit for marijuana flower from one ounce to two ounces starting July 1, but product limits for concentrates, vape cartridges, and edibles remain unchanged pending new equivalency rules.
- The change follows Senate Bill 278, which also doubled possession limits for marijuana and hashish, with most updates taking effect on July 1.
- The Vermont Cannabis Control Board (CCB) is reviewing its equivalency system that translates different marijuana product amounts into a flower equivalent, aiming to establish updated standards by September 30.
- The CCB formed an Equivalencies Working Group, held meetings including one on September 2, and has temporarily withdrawn previous purchase limit guidance while awaiting finalized rules later this month.
Vermont marijuana regulators have committed to establishing new product equivalencies and transaction limits by September 30, following a change in state law that doubled how much marijuana consumers can purchase in a single transaction.
The Vermont Cannabis Control Board (CCB) voted in June to increase the transaction limit for marijuana flower from one ounce to two ounces beginning July 1. However, regulators did not simultaneously increase the limits for marijuana products, instead leaving those restrictions unchanged while the board considers a new equivalency system. The board said at the time that it was organizing working groups and committed to setting the new limits by September 30.
The issue stems from Senate Bill 278, signed into law by Governor Phil Scott on June 18. The law increased the amount of marijuana or the equivalent in marijuana products that a retailer can sell in one transaction from one ounce to two ounces. It also doubled the general possession limit and increased the legal possession limit for hashish from five grams to 10 grams. Most of the changes took effect July 1.
Determining what constitutes the “equivalent” of two ounces of flower is left largely to regulators. Vermont’s previous equivalency system treated one ounce of flower as equivalent to 14 grams of concentrate, eight one-gram vape cartridges or 8,400 milligrams of THC in edible products. Those calculations were developed when the state’s retail transaction limit was one ounce.
Rather than automatically doubling each product limit when the new law took effect, the CCB kept the existing product transaction limits in place while reconsidering how equivalencies should be calculated.
The issue has generated debate within Vermont’s marijuana industry. During legislative consideration of SB 278, industry representatives urged regulators to retain the state’s existing ounce-to-THC equivalency methodology, arguing that it had operated successfully since recreational marijuana sales began in 2022.
The CCB held a dedicated Equivalencies Working Group meeting on September 2 as part of the process. The board’s current working-group page lists the meeting and its video recording, although meeting minutes or a final proposal have not yet been posted.
Meanwhile, the CCB’s guidance library now lists its previous Purchase Limits Guidance as withdrawn as of July. Regulators have directed businesses to a temporary statement concerning purchase limits while the equivalency issue is resolved.
Unless the board changes its timetable, updated equivalencies and transaction limits for concentrates, vape cartridges, edibles and other marijuana products should be established by September 30.