Rhode Island could potentially be less than a month away from finally accepting applications for 24 retail licenses – the first new adult-use shops since the state legalized cannabis. Aspiring operators in the state are one step closer to being able to compete with the already-established medical cannabis providers that have been allowed to sell to non-patient consumers since December 2022.
The state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) voted unanimously to approve each of the four sections that comprise the new adult-use cannabis regulations during a quick meeting on April 11.
“These final regulations represent our collective commitment to regulate our growing cannabis industry in a way that is safe, transparent and equitable,” said Commission Chair Kim Ahern during the meeting. “Through extensive public feedback, we’ve ensured that these regulations prioritize safety, industry compliance, and the voices of communities that have been historically harmed by cannabis prohibition.”
The final regulations will take effect 20 calendar days after they are submitted to the Secretary of State’s office.
“If all goes well, that will hopefully bring us to May 1,” said Ahern, prior to the commission’s vote.
Office of Cannabis Regulation moving to CCC oversight
At that point, the Office of Cannabis Regulation will transfer from the state’s Department of Business Regulation to officially become a part of the CCC. The commission and the newly dubbed Office of Cannabis will be able to begin accepting applications and issuing licenses to retailers.
“All powers, duties and responsibilities of the Office of Cannabis shall be transferred to the commission,” said Ahern. “This has been a long time coming and awaited by many.”
Ahern did not say how soon after the regulations take effect that the state would begin accepting applications. Those applications will be entered into a lottery following a preliminary review for approval.
“We will work closely with our new cannabis office and Administrator Michelle Reddish to open applications as efficiently as we can,” she said. “We will have more to say on that in the coming week.”
Four retail licenses will be available for each of the state’s six geographic regions, for a total of 24 new shops. Applicants are only allowed to submit a single application per region. In the event they are selected in multiple region lotteries, the applicant will have to choose one license to accept.
Two licenses per region will be reserved for general applicants, one will be for social equity candidates, and one will be for worker-owned cooperatives.
Social equity licenses meant to rectify war on drugs
The annual licensing fee is $30,000. Social equity license winners, however, will have their first year’s fee waived, with the price increasing by $7,500 every year until the social equity companies hit $30,000 after year five.
Social equity status requires that the applicant, or 51% of the applying company’s ownership, have a prior cannabis conviction, an immediate family member with a prior cannabis conviction, or spent five of the last 10 years living in a disproportionately impacted area in terms of drug prohibition enforcement.
Applicants must submit a business plan that includes details about the applicants’ experience, funding sources and timeline for commencing operation. They must also submit a security plan and an operation manual.
Rhode Island currently has seven compassionate care centers that are medical and adult-use hybrids and 60 independent cultivators, of which all but two have been authorized to sell to the medical and adult-use markets. Adult-use sales officially began in Rhode Island on Dec. 1, 2022, but the state’s existing medical dispensaries were the only establishments allowed to sell to the general public. Two and half years later, the medical cannabis operators continue to be the only source for legal cannabis in the state.
Over the last few months, the total monthly sales in the state has hovered between $9 million and $9.5 million, according to state data. The vast majority of those sales are for adult use rather than medical.
