The first day of adult cannabis sales in Vermont is May 1, just over a month, when residents and tourists 21 and older will be able to buy cannabis and regulated cannabis products. The starting point now for many Vermont farmers and smallholders interested in participating in the emerging legal cannabis market is their ability to reach customers, an essential activity for any small business. However, it is something that Law 164 prohibits, and farmers and small local producers are calling for a change.
Vermont markets, such as cheese, maple syrup, and hemp, are reasonably affordable for local producers. However, in accordance with current cannabis laws (Law 164 (2020) and Law 62 (2021) and the proposed final rules of the Cannabis Control Board for the emerging cannabis market for adults, farmers and small producers they must wholesale their cannabis products to wholesale or retail licensees … They cannot sell their products directly to consumers, only retailers can sell to the public.
Without direct access to consumers, farmers and small local producers will become price takers and not price makers, which will make them succumb to the demands that intermediaries are willing to offer. A market that does not offer reasonable avenues for thousands of farmers and small local producers interested in participating will have implications for their training, harm the diversity of products for consumers and producers, and affect viability.
For years, local farmers and small producers in the Vermont hemp market have been producing and selling floral cannabidiol (CBD) products to the public, including Amy Lems of Norwich, founder of Vermont Organic Solutions. Lems and his team make topical and unmanageable CBD products for sale online directly to the consumer, as well as wholesale in brick and mortar retail stores.
Lems says current laws and proposed rules “completely ignore several small businesses like mine that are established as a craft manufacturer that sell both wholesale and retail online to consumers, but do not have a store. physics “. Online sales have proven invaluable to Vermont Organic Solutions and many small businesses in Vermont, especially during the pandemic. Without this option available in the emerging cannabis market, Lems said, “dispensaries and retail stores will have complete control over which companies are successful and which are not. They, not the consumer, can decide which products the consumer can buy. It is not a fair play for many existing small businesses that, like us, have been providing quality products, employment and contributing to the local economy.This favors big money and corporations over Vermont small businesses. “.
Relying on local farmers and small producers for some kind of direct consumer access to the upcoming adult cannabis market will also prove to be an advantage for local retailers. Vermont retailers prefer that local farmers and smallholders have some degree of direct consumer access.
The inherent value of a retail license comes from the ability to offer many different brands and varieties of products to consumers in one place. The possibility for local farmers and small producers to have direct access to the consumer will not conflict with retail establishments; it will complement them and foster a vibrant legal cannabis market.
Local farmers know that they cannot survive by wholesaling their produce alone, taking pennies from the dollar, be it vegetables, dairy or hemp, and cannabis is no different.
“Small local farmers do not deserve a lower price for an exceptional product. Vermont has already differentiated itself from the rest of the nation in terms of farmers’ sovereignty, and it shouldn’t be any different from cannabis, “says Eduardo Jaime of Fine Bud Farms in Randolph.
The possibility for customers to meet directly with farmers or small producers, online or in person, is as necessary for the customer as it is for the small business.
“Direct consumer access will not only show each region, but also provide a fair and equitable cannabis market where smallholder farmers can thrive and lead Vermont’s recreational market instead of being abandoned by policies that favor multistate conglomerates.” “People who sacrifice quality and prioritize the benefits of the people.
Cannabis is a high value crop, and empowering farmers and small local producers with direct consumer access will allow these dollars to stay in these communities, generating local economic development and opportunities across the state.
Behind each of the small producers, retailers, and farmers in this commentary are hundreds, if not thousands, of Vermonters with similar feelings and shared concerns about their ability to participate in the emerging adult cannabis market.
Cannabis will be an important part of Vermont’s economy, but the proposed adult market structure currently favors dispensaries and retailers as the only direct access to consumers and will not guarantee equity for farmers and small producers. It is vital that legislators and regulators allow farmers and small local producers some sort of direct access to the consumer at market launch so that they can have a fair chance to participate and the opportunity to generate wealth in this new industry.
Geoffrey Pizzutillo of Burlington is the co-founder and CEO of the Vermont Growers Association.
