MONTPELIER — Direct to consumer scales, referred to as “deli scales” in the cannabis industry, are inspected once every calendar year.

“The inspections are usually unannounced and take roughly 10 minutes,” said Scott Dolan, weights and measures specialist at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. “But they’re also a good time to ask the inspector any questions you’ve got regarding the scales or any other weights and measures related questions you have while they’re in your store, because we’re not there long, because we’ve got a lot to do and we keep moving around.”

Consumers must be able to see the scale in a cannabis establishment and the display of the scale throughout the weighing process. That allows the consumer to protect themselves, Dolan said at a recent peer networking event held by the Vermont Cannabis Control Board.

Dolan estimated most cannabis retailers are selling an average of 1 to 10 grams to each customer. The agency has recommendations for scales, depending on the quantity regularly being sold by an establishment.

Scales must be licensed by the Agency of Agriculture and renewed annually for $10. Dolan said the fee covers inspection costs.

For labeling, Dolan told retailers, “as far as we’re concerned, your product is no different than a box of cereal or a chocolate bar or anything else.”

“[T]here’s been a few occasions where things have not been clearly marked,” he said.

From his agency’s perspective, labeling must tell the consumer what the product is, have a name and address of the company, and include an accurate net quantity.

A complaint about labeling will result in a visit from a field inspector and a compliance agent from the Cannabis Control Board.

“You’ll have a nice little posse visiting …,” Dolan said. “We’ve had two or three so far. One was valid. Two seemed to not be valid. We will introduce ourselves. There’s not going to be any surprises in that we follow a nationally recognized procedure.”

The video of the peer networking event can be found at youtube.com/@vermontccb.