Cannabis advocates in Rhode Island are asking regulators to step in after a federal judge temporarily stopped the state from issuing additional licenses for retail cannabis sales.
State law calls for 24 new retail cannabis stores around the state, with six licenses reserved for social equity applicants. But on April 8, U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose temporarily halted the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission from awarding any new licenses or from reviewing the over 90 applications that have been submitted.
The case is among several legal challenges challenging Rhode Island’s requirement that a Rhode Island resident own at least half of any cannabis company operating in the state. California entrepreneur Justyna Jensen sued the state commission in charge of licenses, saying the requirements violated federal laws around interstate commerce.
Judge DuBose’s preliminary injunction pauses the licensing process and leaves applicants twisting in the wind.
“It is the state’s job to release these licenses,” said Andre Dev, founder of the advocacy group Community Cannabis Network of Rhode Island, who has applied for a retail license. “So it’s really important that us applicants take this moment to speak up and say, ‘Hey, we really need you to move quickly and really minimize the harm that is done by this decision.’”
The applicants represented by the Community Cannabis Network said this week that the court ruling is just the latest in a string of delays that they say have benefited the eight cannabis dispensaries that are currently operating in Rhode Island.
“The industry does not have enough retailers,” Dev said. “And it doesn’t get reported that way because the existing retailers have such a big voice. They have so much influence. And the people on the other side of it – the cultivators — are basically disadvantaged from being able to speak out because they can get blacklisted.”
Lawmakers on Smith Hill are considering removing the residency requirements. The Cannabis Control Commission said it is considering next steps.
Ocean State Media’s Jeremy Bernfeld contributed to this story.
