§ 4474f. Dispensary application, approval, and registration

(a)(1) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules on the following:

(A) The form and content of dispensary registration and renewal applications.

(B) Minimum oversight requirements for a dispensary.

(C) Minimum record-keeping requirements for a dispensary.

(D) Minimum security requirements for a dispensary, which shall include a fully operational security alarm system. This provision shall apply to each location where marijuana will be grown, cultivated, harvested, or otherwise prepared for distribution by the dispensary or will be distributed by the dispensary.

(E) Procedures for suspending or terminating the registration of a dispensary that violates the provisions of this subchapter or the rules adopted pursuant to this subchapter.

(F) The medium and manner in which a dispensary may notify registered patients of its services.

(G) Procedures to guide reasonable determinations as to whether an applicant would pose a demonstrable threat to public safety if he or she were to be associated with a dispensary.

(H) Procedures for providing notice to applicants regarding federal law with respect to marijuana.

(2) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt such rules with the goal of protecting against diversion and theft without imposing an undue burden on a registered dispensary or compromising the confidentiality of registered patients and their registered caregivers. Any dispensing records that a registered dispensary is required to keep shall track transactions according to registered patients' and registered caregivers' Registry identification numbers, rather than their names, to protect confidentiality.

(b)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, no more than five dispensaries shall hold valid registration certificates at one time. Any time a dispensary registration certificate is revoked, is relinquished, or expires, the Department shall accept applications for a new dispensary.

(2) Once the Registry reaches 7,000 registered patients, the number of dispensary registrations shall expand to six and the Department shall begin accepting applications forthwith.

(c) Each application for a dispensary registration certificate shall include all of the following:

(1) a nonrefundable application fee in the amount of $2,500.00 paid to the Department;

(2) the legal name of the dispensary and the organizational documents that create the dispensary, govern its operation and internal affairs, and govern relations between and among its owners;

(3) the proposed physical address of the dispensary, if a precise address has been determined or, if not, the general location where it would be located;

(4) a description of the secure, locked facility where marijuana will be grown, cultivated, harvested, or otherwise prepared for distribution by the dispensary;

(5) the name, address, and date of birth of each owner, principal, and financier of the dispensary who is a natural person and a complete set of fingerprints for each of them;

(6) proposed security and safety measures, which shall include at least one security alarm system for each location and planned measures to deter and prevent the unauthorized entrance into areas containing marijuana and the theft of marijuana;

(7) proposed procedures to ensure accurate record-keeping.

(d) Any time one or more dispensary registration applications are being considered, the Department shall solicit input from registered patients and registered caregivers.

(e) Each time a dispensary certificate is granted, the decision shall be based on the overall health needs of qualified patients. The following factors shall weigh heavily in the consideration of an application:

(1) geographic convenience to patients from throughout the State of Vermont to a dispensary if the applicant were approved;

(2) the entity's ability to provide an adequate supply to the registered patients in the State;

(3) the entity's ability to demonstrate that its owners, principals, and financiers have sufficient experience running a business;

(4) the comments, if any, of registered patients and registered caregivers regarding which applicant should be granted a registration certificate;

(5) the sufficiency of the applicant's plans for record-keeping, which records shall be considered confidential health care information under Vermont law and are intended to be deemed protected health care information for purposes of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended;

(6) the sufficiency of the applicant's plans for safety and security, including the proposed location and security devices employed.

(f) The Department may deny an application for a dispensary if it determines that an applicant's criminal history record indicates that the association of an owner, principal, or financier with a dispensary would pose a demonstrable threat to public safety.

(g) After a dispensary is approved but before it begins operations, it shall submit the following to the Department:

(1) the legal name of the dispensary and the organizational documents that create the dispensary, govern its operation and internal affairs, and govern relations between and among its owners;

(2) the physical address of the dispensary;

(3) the name, address, and date of birth of each owner, principal, and financier of the dispensary along with a complete set of fingerprints for each;

(4) a registration fee of $20,000.00 for the first year of operation, and an annual fee of $25,000.00 in subsequent years.

(h) [Repealed.]  (Added 2011, No. 65, § 1, eff. June 2, 2011; amended 2011, No. 65, § 3c, eff. Jan. 31, 2012; 2013, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2013, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 28, eff. June 16, 2014; 2017, No. 65, § 6.)