Guam clears its first commercial cannabis grower to operate

Guam’s Cannabis Control Board approved its first cannabis-business operating permit on 24 June 2026, for the grower Deep Green Guam. The unanimous vote followed conditional licence approval and government inspections. The tax department said additional steps were required before the business could begin production and sales.

A licence came before the operating permit

In February, the board approved a cultivation licence for Pacific Root LLC, trading as Pacific Cultivation, and conditionally approved one for Guam Real Deal LLC, trading as Deep Green Guam.

Board chair Vanessa Williams Cruz described a learning curve for applicants and government agencies working through an entirely new industry. The businesses could then seek operating permits.

These were separate approvals under the commercial rules. A business licence was followed by facility inspections and an application for permission to operate.

Inspectors recommended approval for Deep Green Guam

By June, the compliance branch had worked with the applicant, inspected the establishment and recommended approval. Board members unanimously granted the permit.

The decision gave Guam its first operating-permit holder seven years after adult-use legalisation. The licence holder was a cultivator, and the tax department still identified steps to complete before production and sales.

For consumers, those distinctions determined when a legal business could progress from an approved application to a source of cannabis.

The missing laboratory had prompted a legal workaround

Guam’s rules originally required cannabis to be tested for potency and safety before consumer sales. Laboratories needed recognised accreditation or certification, and licensed businesses also needed their own approvals.

A 2024 amendment created a temporary testing exemption with labels and growers’ sworn assurances about contaminants. In April 2026, lawmakers extended the period from two years to five because a qualifying laboratory had still not opened.

The extension also described applicants’ difficulty obtaining agency clearances. It addressed one of several obstacles facing businesses trying to open.

Home growing supplied residents during the wait

Guam’s 2018 medical permit scheme had given patients and caregivers a way to cultivate while dispensaries were unavailable. The 2019 adult-use law later allowed six plants per residence, with no more than three flowering, and unpaid gifts between adults within quantity limits.

Contemporary reporting described residents relying on home cultivation for both medical and recreational use. The June permit marked a further step toward commercial supply in Guam, following years in which personal growing and gifting provided legal routes to cannabis.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}