BRADFORD, Vt. — Voters approved retail cannabis in a special vote by Australian ballot at the Bradford Academy Building on Tuesday, 166-91.

The vote was in line with a survey the Planning Commission conducted in March and April as part of rewriting the town plan, which included a question asking about retail cannabis, and 86% of the 130 respondents said yes, they would support it.

“That’s why you put it all out (there) and see what happens,” Selectboard Chairman Dan Perry said of the result in an interview on Wednesday. “We’ll work (out) the next step after that.”

The vote came the day before the Vermont Cannabis Control Board approved the first licenses for adult-use retailers in Rutland, Middlebury and Burlington, according to a Wednesday news release from the board.

Approved retailers can begin operating once they have paid their licensing fees, met any outstanding contingencies and received their local license if a local control commission has been created by their municipality. That date will vary from business to business.

The news release predicted “supply shortages” in the early days of Vermont’s new marketplace due to delays in issuing licenses to cultivators.

Tuesday’s result makes Bradford the latest community in the Upper Valley to approve retail sales of cannabis, which are set to begin in Vermont next month.

Other communities that have already approved such sales include Hartford, the town of Woodstock, Windsor, Randolph and Strafford. The village of Woodstock rejected retail sales in a vote earlier this year.

The Cannabis Control Board has issued licenses for growers across the state, including in Bradford where Big Budz Farm has received a Tier 1 outdoor license, which allows for 1,000 square feet of plant canopy or 125 plants.

Other licensed outdoor cultivators in the Upper Valley include: Sun Road Farms in Barnard; Kanna and Three Barn Farm Cannabis in Bethel; Backwoods Cultivation, Backwoods Farm in Bridgewater Corners; Green Mountain Gold Farm in Corinth; DBA Edward’s in Hartland; Fin Bud Farms in Randolph; One Love Cannabis Collective in Strafford; Goat Ridge Cannabis in Vershire; Old Growth Organics in West Windsor; and Cloudy Day Farm in White River Junction.

Licensed Tier 1 indoor cultivators in the Upper Valley include: Clover Hill Cannabis in South Strafford; VVS Labs in White River Junction; and Grease Line Cannabis in Weathersfield. They are allowed to cultivate up to 1,000 square feet of plant canopy indoors.

Licensed Tier 1 mixed cultivators in the Upper Valley include: Green Mountain Kana and Trombly House of Cannabis in Chelsea; Mythic Gardens in East Corinth; The Mad Botonist in South Royalton; 7 B’s Farm in Tunbridge; 1958 in Windsor; and Cavelion in Woodstock. With the mixed license, growers are allowed to grow up to 1,000 square feet of plant canopy indoors and up to 125 plants outdoors.

“The CCB’s licensing team remains hard at work reviewing applications for all license types, and the Board will continue to approve them on a rolling basis,” the board said in Wednesday’s release. “This market will take time to equalize, but with today’s licensing decisions, we have taken an important step towards creating something that can truly benefit Vermonters.”

Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.

]]>