The Virgin Islands Office of Cannabis Regulations is poised to hire its first regular employees, announcing job openings for several positions this week.

Since her appointment as executive director in July 2022, Hannah Carty has been the Office’s lone employee. Carty announced Friday, however, that she would likely be a team of one no more. The Office started taking applications for at least two cannabis enforcement investigators — at least one for each district. The Office also hopes to hire an office assistant and a part-time public information officer.

As agents of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the enforcement investigators will be tasked with making sure cannabis sellers comply with regulations set up under the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act, signed into law in January. It wasn’t clear how much this would overlap with the work the Virgin Islands Police Department has been doing for decades, but the positions’ job description has the investigators helping police track down potential links between illegal and legal cannabis sellers.

Different than police work, the investigators will monitor legal cannabis outlets to ensure they work within regulatory rules. This includes who is sold to and how, what is sold, background checks and reviewing licensed sellers’ bookkeeping. The investigators will also work closely with prosecutors and other elements of the criminal justice system.

The office assistant job requires note-taking, records administration and filing, coordinating and working on special projects, ordering and stocking supplies and many other administrative functions. While not as swashbuckling as the investigator position, the office assistant is expected to function in a highly confidential manner as they will be handling sensitive and private material.

The public information officer will be asked to identify communication needs and develop materials designed to meet commonly asked questions about policies, programs, services, and activities – some of which will be sensitive and confidential. Part of the job is as the Office’s public information officer and community relations lead, sometimes acting as spokesperson.

Carty and the Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board plan to discuss the positions and other matters at a meeting Wednesday. To apply, interested parties go to the Division of Personnel website or send their cover letter and resume to [email protected].