Rhode Island releases draft rules for expanding adult-use market

Rhode Island marijuana regulators on Wednesday released a new draft of rules for how they intend to go about expanding the recreational cannabis market, but they also made clear that the regulations have a ways to go before they’re finalized.

At issue is exactly how the state Cannabis Control Commission will pick 24 new dispensary license winners, The Providence Journal reported. Currently, the commission is planning to use a “hybrid” method, wherein commissioners would first vet license applicants, and then compile all qualifying entrepreneurs into a lottery for the two dozen retail permits.

But one of the three-member commission vocally opposed such a plan, arguing that a merit-based scoring system would be better than a lottery, The Journal reported.

“We won’t be able to consider which applicants have the better plans, only that they have a plan, and then they’re in the lottery,” Commissioner Robert Jacquard said. “So, I think that is unfair to the applicants that put the most effort into this and have the best overall plans.”

Jacquard was overruled by his two counterparts, however, who asserted that such processes have only led to endless litigation in other states that have tried standing up new marijuana markets with limited license models.

“That’s how other states have been sued to great success,” Commission Chairwoman Kim Ahern said. “So my goal is to avoid further delay, which is a theme we’ve heard in every public comment period we’ve had.”

There are already two pending lawsuits filed against Rhode Island over its marijuana permitting plans. Those claims challenge the legality of a residency requirement for licensure and the parameters of its social equity program. Because of those coming legal hurdles, Ahern said it’s not clear if any new dispensaries will be opened this year, The Journal reported.

The new rules will go through a 30-day public comment period next, before the commission revisits the topic. Further changes could be made before final adoption.

Currently, there are only seven legal dispensaries serving the entire state of Rhode Island, though two others are licensed by not yet open. The 2022 law that legalized recreational marijuana also mandated a phased-in expansion of the industry, which means the state will eventually have 33 operational adult-use cannabis shops.