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The state of Vermont rolled out its cannabis tracking plan this week for implementation, as retail operations begin next month.

The state of Vermont rolled out its cannabis tracking plan this week for implementation, as retail operations begin next month.

MONTPELIER — The Cannabis Control Board will have product tracking forms available for cultivators by next week.

Board Chairman James Pepper acknowledged at the board’s weekly meeting on Wednesday the growing frustration with how slowly licenses have been dispensed. He confirmed that the board will look over each application that they received, but Pepper also noted how much overtime his staff has been putting toward application processing.

Implementing high fees and difficult regulations that only large companies can afford would have been easy for the board, but instead members focused on small businesses, which receive tier one licenses. Exactly 179 cultivators out of 222 are small cultivators, according to Pepper.

“This market belongs to small growers in a way that no other state market does,” he said.

To make the process more sustainable in the long run, Pepper asked state staff to slow down and to stop working nights, weekends and holidays on the applications.

Cary Giguere, the board’s compliance director, went over the Microsoft Office forms for cultivator cannabis inventory tracking. These forms will be available by the beginning of next week on the board’s website, ccb.vermont.gov.

Each cultivator will begin with a Harvest Lot, which is the term for any cannabis grown in the same lot, regardless of the cultivar, or variety, of plant. The Harvest Lot will be broken down into processed lots that are separated by plant variety.

The cannabis tracking forms require cultivators to provide standard information, such as the cannabis establishment’s name, license type and license number. The form will ask the cultivator to identify the lot and crop, as well as when it was planted and harvested. There also will be a section to include the weight of the product in grams.

There are separate forms for indoor and outdoor grows. Mixed cultivators will have to choose the form based on which crop they harvested. The board is asking cultivators to report their cannabis inventory on a bi-weekly basis, or every two weeks. Instructions will be available to assist cultivators when filling out the forms.

As a reminder, the board sent out guidance for packaging in its weekly email. Cannabis products, including edibles and concentrates, need to be in child-deterrent packaging. The packaging should be tear-resistant and difficult for a child under the age of 5 to open; child-resistant does not mean child-proof. All cannabis products should be stored safely away from minors.

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