State board approves new local cannabis retail and grower applications
May 27, 2023 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
31 Degrees North cannabis retail is located in the Route 100 shopping complex with Danforth Pewter and Lake Champlain Chocolates. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The latest round of license approvals by the Vermont Cannabis Control Board includes two new businesses in Waterbury and Duxbury.
At its meeting Monday, May 22, the board approved 49 applications for cultivators, manufacturers and retailers in Vermont’s new cannabis industry. Among them were 31 Degrees North Holdings, LLC for a retail license and Pilin’ It Higher Farms, LLC for an outdoor cultivator license.
Prior to Monday’s action, the board had approved 424 licenses of all types, according to the meeting slide presentation.
The 31 Degrees North business has a retail location on Vermont Route 100 in Waterbury Center beside Smugglers’ Notch Distillery in the retail complex where Lake Champlain Chocolates, Danforth, Cabot and other shops are located. The business manager could not be reached for comment on Friday for details on when the outlet might open. The location puts it in between Waterbury’s two other state-licensed cannabis retail businesses: Zenbarn Farms which opened in November to the south, and GoodFire to the north which opened last month.
According to the Vermont Secretary of State’s business directory, the company’s registered agent is Melissa Halvorsen along with Susan Grimes, both of Stowe.
The other local license went to Pilin’ It Higher Farms, LLC in Duxbury. Its registered agent according to the Secretary of State’s business listings is Danielle Atkinson. It was approved for a Tier 2 Outdoor Cultivator license. That level approves a grower to have up to 312 plants covering up to 2,500 square feet.
Both of these applications were approved under the Cannabis Control Board’s economic empowerment category. Applicants from historically disadvantaged communities are eligible for consideration as economic empowerment licensees. These are businesses that are at least 51% owned by individuals including women, veterans, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Indigenous/Native Americans, Asian American/Pacific Islanders.