Vermont Lt. Gov. John Rodgers plans to pay a reduced fine to state regulators in order to settle a case in which he grew at least 100 cannabis plants for his business at a site in Glover where he did not have permission to do so, he said.
Rodgers acknowledged in an interview that he “made a mistake” by failing to follow the Cannabis Control Board’s rules on providing information about where growing operations are located. VtDigger first reported on the incident last week.
The control board initially said in a notice to Rodgers that he was facing a $5,000 fine. But at a meeting with Rodgers last week — which was not open to the public — state regulators agreed to cut the fine in half to $2,500, the lieutenant governor said.
“I said that I would pay it to have it behind me,” Rodgers said.
He said he disagreed with having to pay any fine at all, though, for what he maintained was a simple oversight and not evidence he was trying to hide any part of his operations from the state. He called the settlement “an outrageous penalty.”
Patrick Crowley, a spokesperson for the control board, confirmed in a statement Monday that regulators discussed a resolution to Rodgers’ case last week but did not provide specifics on the settlement terms. He added that the full details of the agreement would be made public, but did not say when. Crowley said such settlements are a common way to address violations of the board’s rules.
Rodgers, who has grown cannabis and hemp for years, has permission to grow cannabis at a site on Rodgers Road — named for his family — in Glover, Vt. But in June, a state inspector found him growing plants in a greenhouse about a mile away, even though Rodgers had never told the state he was doing so there.
The plants were small starts, Rodgers said, which means they had no or very little THC in them. He said there were 120; the board’s violation notice described “approximately 200.”
State rules require cultivators to update regulators on the precise location of where plants are growing, including keeping up-to-date maps of their operations on file, Crowley said.
“This is necessary for the State to ensure the relevant site is rightfully occupied, insured, secured, monitored, and otherwise fit for lawful use in regulated cannabis cultivation,” he said.
Rodgers said in an interview that his son, who’s his partner in the cannabis business, failed to include the building in the most recent updated information he and Rodgers shared with state regulators. Rodgers said he intended to include the greenhouse details.
“But that’s what happens,” he said. “He has two businesses. I have several businesses, and I’m the lieutenant governor, and we work six or seven days a week. Sometimes, you drop the ball.”
This story was first published by VTDigger and is republished with permission as part of the Vermont Journalism Trust’s Community News Sharing Project.