ST. CROIX — The last time Senator Terrence Nelson’s hemp bill — a measure that seeks to amend title 7 of Virgin Islands Code, chapter 1, for the cultivation of hemp and other related purposes — was heard at a Committee on Rules and Judiciary hearing, it was held in committee following strong opposition from Attorney General Claude Walker. The bill had received strong support and cleared a critical hurdle during a Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Planning hearing in June, 2015.

A New Jersey holding company has completed its acquisition of a medical marijuana firm, and named new leadership as part of the transaction, it announced Monday.

Piscataway-based Mobile Broadcasting Holding Inc. said in a news release that it wrapped up the deal for U.S. Virgin Islands-based Medically Minded LLC announced earlier this month, naming Ken Sobel the company’s new president and Stephen A. Jones, principal shareholder, its new CEO.

Medically Minded provides medical cannabis and cannabis-related products, as well as medical tourist services, MBHC said.

ST. CROIX - The office of Sen. Terrence Nelson is seeking input from the public on proposed medical marijuana legislation.

Nelson, who is sponsoring the legislation, said at a press conference Tuesday that he intends to call it the Medicinal Cannabis Patient Care Act.

"You are invited to have input. We are inviting inclusion here. You are not excluded from this process," he said.

The plan is for the office to have the draft legislation completed and submitted to the Legislature's legal counsel by the end of the month, he said. The legislature's legal counsel then has up to 45 days after that to complete the bill and get it back to the sponsor.

Then, it gets assigned to a committee and goes through the committee process.

Sen. Terrence “Positive” Nelson and his staff have started drafting a bill to legalize, license and regulate medicinal cannabis in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but it may be a while before the “Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act” bill is heard in the legislature, the senator told a news conference Tuesday.

“I can't dictate when it will be heard in Legislature,” Nelson said.

It could be as late as August, he said, because of budget hearings coming up, he said. The draft of the bill will be submitted to the Legislature's legal council by the end of May. Legal council will have 45 days to review it, then it goes to a legislative committee process.

An Open letter to the Governor, the Legislature, the Judiciary and the People of the Virgin Islands: The recent declaration by the Governor of Puerto Rico legalizing medical marijuana has brought much conversation on the airwaves here in the Virgin Islands. I would like the Governor and the Senators along with the Judiciary to understand what it is exactly that they will be writing, executing and judging the People of the Virgin Islands when they address the subject of Medical Marijuana. I'd like the people to think about the patients that need and use marijuana when they eventually go and vote for this law.