Rhode Island’s Quest to Open New Cannabis Stores May Restart Soon
A federal judge has indicated that she will lift the injunction on Rhode Island’s cannabis license lottery, paving the way for the state to restart the process of issuing new licenses to operate retail cannabis dispensaries. The decision comes after the state’s General Assembly revised the law, removing residency requirements that were deemed unconstitutional.
The Cannabis Control Commission will need to recertify social equity applicants and restart the application process. The revised law does not provide a timeline for when the new application process will be completed. The commission had previously considered slowing down the process due to concerns about “price compression” and the potential impact on existing dispensaries.
The changes to the law were made in response to a federal judge’s preliminary injunction, which was issued in April. The judge ruled that the state’s residency requirements were unconstitutional and violated the Dormant Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. The state appealed the decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, but asked that the appeal be put on hold while the General Assembly revised the law.
The revised law removes the residency requirements and removes language that created implicit residency requirements for social equity applicants. The Cannabis Control Commission is set to hold a hearing on Friday to discuss the updated law and the next steps in the application process.
The restart of the application process is expected to be a welcome development for many in the cannabis industry, including cultivators who have been waiting for new retail licenses to be issued. Currently, there are nine dispensaries in the state and 58 cultivators, with six of the nine dispensaries being partially or fully vertically integrated.
