Guam, a small U.S. island territory in the Western Pacific Ocean, has finally issued its first cannabis business permit, seven years after it legalized adult-use recreational cannabis.
According to Isla Public Media, cannabis cultivator Deep Green Guam has been given permission to commence operations, four months after receiving conditional approval. The time between conditional approval and full permit was filled with inspections and interviews.
Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero signed the bill to legal recreational cannabis in 2019.
"We must regulate this illicit drug that is the most widely used drug in our society," she said. "We have to take it and control it, monitor its use and effects, benefit from its medicinal efforts, allow our people to live in a safer environment."
The territory's Cannabis Control Board at the time was given up to a year to form the rules for growing, processing, packaging and selling cannabis. But it obviously took much longer than that.
According to KUAM News, the delay was due to a slow-working regulatory body. As the report pointed out, Guam's Cannabis Control Board is required by law to meet every month. But, as of January 2026, had not convened for nearly a year.
During a public hearing, Deep Green Guam's Stephen Roberto told lawmakers he had for years dealt with changing requirements and expiring licenses.
“Guam’s cannabis industry can succeed only if regulations reflect real world operating conditions and protects the people who complied early and in good faith," Roberto said. "Extending the testing waiver is essential to provide the breathing room needed for these bureaucratic issues to be resolved without prematurely halting industries’ progress.”
