St. Thomas, USVI: Best Location for a Cannabis Dispensary?

Retail Cannabis Stands To Thrive In St. Thomas

You read that right. St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands very well may be the best location possible for a cannabis dispensary to open up. And no we are not being hyperbolic with this.

Let’s break it down and see why this small island in the Caribbean may be an ideal spot for your retail cannabis business.

 

 

USVI: A Cannabis Tourism Hot Spot

As we discussed in our Tapping Into Cannabis Tourism blog post back in February, cannabis tourism has increased nationally and globally. In 2023, cannabis tourism had a market size of over $10 billion. The USVI themselves will be able to position themselves as one of the only legal places in the Caribbean with a thriving cannabis market. Tourism is the largest industry for the islands and in 2024 the U.S. Virgin Islands welcomed over 1 million visitors.

 

Island Location Matters For Retail

The USVI is divided into three main islands: St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, all providing a set of unique cannabis opportunities. Of these, St. Thomas may be the most desirable for a dispensary because it firstly, has the most people of the three (42,000 permanent residents compared with St. Croix’s 41,000 and St. John’s 4,000) and is where the territorial capital of Charlotte Amalie is located. Additionally, it is the primary destination point for tourists visiting the islands. If you want to get the most cannabis tourist revenue for your USVI location, St. Thomas is the place.

 

 

The Current USVI Licensing Process

We are in the middle of the dispensing application round…supposedly. While the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulation (OCR) had stated that the dispensing licensing round would open on July 1, as of this writing on July 7, 20245 there are no materials online for the application. No need to fear though, we have seen OCR do this previously with the cultivation license process and, as required by statue, the application window must be a minimum of 60-days long.

 

Retail Cannabis Applicants Stand To Win On Merit

With that in mind, now is the perfect time to get started on a cannabis dispensing application. Business competition compared to other states and territories is far less and applicants, so long as they submit materials which can meet the high-standards OCR has demanded of this merit-based application, have a solid chance of getting approved. One of the reasons we at Canna Advisors love the USVI is their prioritization of merit over luck. More and more, states have used cannabis license lotteries to “even the playing field,” with mixed results to say the least.

OCR prioritizing merit-based cannabis applicants means that anyone with a good head on their shoulders and who follows the exhaustive regulations can get up and running.

 

 

Get Support With St. Thomas Cannabis Applications

Overwhelmed with the regulations, don’t have time to write all these narrative materials, or need a hand with critical residency requirements? Canna Advisors is here to help! Our team has decades of proven experience winning licenses, getting key questions and business plans nailed down through hourly consultations, and putting both state and island-based cannabis entrepenuers in the driver’s seat.

Contact our consultants and get started on your St. Thomas cannabis business today.