Marijuana 'gifting' businesses illegal, says Vermont Attorney General

April McCullum | Burlington Free Press

Vermont's top lawyer says businesses that charge a "delivery fee" to provide free marijuana are breaking state law.

The same goes for entrepreneurs selling such T-shirts or other products with a "free gift" of marijuana, the Vermont Attorney General's Office said in an advisory statement Monday.

"We spent most of last week kind of going through all the hypotheticals on this and we twisted ourselves into a pretty good pretzel," Attorney General T.J. Donovan said in an interview.

Donovan and his staff eventually settled on a simple bright line: "Any gift that's coupled with a commercial transaction would be illegal."

The guidance comes three weeks after Vermont legalized adult-use marijuana. There is no legal way to buy recreational marijuana in Vermont, but a number of businesses launched in early July with the promise of "free gifts." Marijuana delivery businesses advertised free marijuana, as long as customers paid delivery fees on a sliding scale depending on how much marijuana they wanted.

Anyone convicted of selling marijuana in Vermont can face fines and prison time, and state legislators and attorneys have predicted that court cases will test any gray areas in the law.

Donovan was unaware of any criminal prosecutions of marijuana-related businesses, which would be up to the discretion of each individual state's attorney. For his part, Donovan said his office is focused on educating the public and raising awareness about the law.

"Any transfer of marijuana for money, barter or other legal consideration remains illegal under Vermont law," the Vermont Attorney General's Office said in the statement.

"This includes a commercial transaction (i.e., an exchange of goods or services for money) with a purported 'gift' of marijuana," the statement continued. "Examples include: selling an item or service, like a bracelet or t-shirt with the 'gift' of marijuana. Charging someone for the purported 'delivery' of a marijuana 'gift' would also be considered a sale."

Key lawmakers also said last week that they would consider clarifying the law during the 2019 legislative session.

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Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum.