Nurse urges Vermont lawmakers to restore medical oversight and tougher testing for hemp-derived delta-9 products

Jessie Lynn Dolan, a registered nurse and longtime cannabis program participant, told the Senate Committee on Agriculture that patient safety and education should be central to how Vermont regulates hemp-derived delta-9 products and adult-use cannabis. She urged lawmakers to reestablish the Symptom Relief Oversight Committee and to require the same contaminant testing for hemp-derived delta-9 that the Cannabis Control Board requires for high-THC cannabis.

Dolan said many people use cannabis for symptom relief rather than to get high and warned that dosing for engineered hemp-derived delta-9 can be potent. "One to two milligrams of THC is a lot," she told the committee, and she cautioned the panel that research on many synthetic or chemically converted cannabinoids is limited. She described early efforts with the Agency of Agriculture to develop lab-testing protocols and said "the way it is now, there's no testing" for many hemp-derived delta-9 products, leaving contaminants and mycology unaddressed.

The nurse also pressed for stronger budtender training and changes to advertising guidance that she said deter medical professionals from participating in adult-use retail. She told senators that mandated budtender education had been reduced to a short online module and that medical oversight had declined since the Cannabis Control Board took over some program elements.

Committee members asked for technical clarifications about differences among cannabinoids and the origin of delta-9 in plant extraction versus chemical conversion from CBD. Dolan and other witnesses described short-acting "nano" formulations that can produce near-immediate effects and said those rapid-onset products create acute safety risks for patients and the public if labeling and education are lacking.

Dolan recommended reinstating a medical oversight committee that would include clinicians, psychologists and patient representatives to advise the Cannabis Control Board on qualifying conditions, appeals and clinical guidance. "We don't have anything like that right now," she said, adding that such a panel previously reported annually to the governor and met regularly.

The committee did not take formal action but asked witnesses to provide more detailed recommendations and technical materials. Several senators said they welcomed the education and expected to follow up with the Cannabis Control Board and relevant agencies to consider changes to testing requirements and medical representation.