§ 979. Cultivation of cannabis; environmental and land use standards
(a)(1) A dispensary shall not be regulated as “farming” under the Required Agricultural Practices, 6 V.S.A. chapter 215, or other State law, and cannabis produced from cultivation shall not be considered an agricultural product or agricultural crop for the purposes of 32 V.S.A. chapter 124, 32 V.S.A. § 9741, or other relevant State law.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, the cultivation of cannabis on agricultural land and the use of farm buildings to dry or process that cannabis shall not disqualify the land or buildings from the use value appraisal program or constitute “development” under 32 V.S.A. § 3752(5), provided that:
(A) the agricultural land or farm building is enrolled in the use value appraisal program at the time cannabis cultivation commences;
(B) the agricultural land or farm building is not transferred to another owner;
(C) the cultivation, drying, or processing of cannabis is done by a licensee on 1,000 square feet or less of agricultural land; and
(D) all other requirements under 32 V.S.A. chapter 124 continue to be met.
(b) The cultivation, processing, and manufacturing of cannabis regulated under this chapter shall comply with all applicable State, federal, and local environmental, energy, or public health law, unless otherwise provided under this chapter.
(c) A dispensary regulated under this chapter shall be subject to regulation under 24 V.S.A. chapter 117 as authorized by this chapter.
(d)(1) The cultivation, processing, and manufacturing of cannabis regulated under this chapter shall comply with the following sections of the Required Agricultural Practices:
(A) section 6, regarding conditions, restriction, and operating standards;
(B) section 8, regarding groundwater quality and groundwater quality investigations; and
(C) section 12, regarding subsurface tile drainage.
(2) Application of or compliance with the Required Agricultural Practices under subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be construed to provide a presumption of compliance with or exemption to any applicable State, federal, and local environmental, energy, public health, or land use law required under subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(e) Persons cultivating cannabis or handling pesticides for the purposes of the manufacture of cannabis products shall comply with the worker protection standard of 40 C.F.R. part 170. (Added 2019, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. March 1, 2022; amended 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 155, eff. July 1, 2022.)