WARWICK – The Cannabis Control Commission on Wednesday released their much-anticipated draft regulations for expanding the retail market, but not first without renewed debate among the three commissioners over the process of selecting qualified applicants for 24 planned future stores.
The Commission plans to use what it calls a two-step “hybrid” method, where only those applicants it deems properly prepared to run a cannabis store will qualify then to enter a license lottery.
What are the concerns over the new regulations?
Commissioner Robert Jacquard reiterated his concern that license selection should be based on proven “merit” to avoid unqualified applicants being given the same chance for a retail license as others more experienced.
For instance, Jacquard noted that three of the proposed regulations only require store license applicants to have a business plan, a safety and security plan and an operations manual.
“But 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,” he said. “So, I think that is unfair to the applicants that put the most effort into this and have the best overall plans.”
But Chairwoman Kim Ahern and Commissioner Layi Oduyingbo disagreed. They said relying too heavily on the Commission’s own subjective opinions would make it more vulnerable to lawsuits from businesses not selected – a reality that curtailed some states from expanding their new cannabis markets.
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“When you do that, that’s how other states have been sued to great success,” said Ahern. “So, my goal is to avoid further delay, which is a theme we’ve heard in every public comment period we’ve had.”
Said Oduyingbo: “The second we are making selections that are fully decided by us … that’s going to be ripe for litigation.”
Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission during a 2023 meeting. From left: Robert Jacquard, chairwoman Kimberly Ahern, and Layi Oduyingbo
The 2022 Rhode Island Cannabis Act that legalized recreational cannabis use called for 24 additional retail stores around the state beyond the seven dispensaries now operating. (Two other proposed dispensaries are still trying to gain licenses to open, one in Woonsocket and one in Foster.)
After raising his concerns Wednesday over how those store licenses will be awarded, Jacquard joined his colleagues in unanimously voting to post the 200 pages of rules and regulations for public comment.
What comes next?
The public comment will be open for 30 days, after which the Commission has some time to consider any changes before taking a final vote of their passage, said Ahern.
Ahern said she wants to move much faster than the 180 days the Commission has under the Cannabis Act to finalize the regulations.
“If we got zero comments [on the rules and regulations] it could be done in under two months,” she said. “If we got thousands of comments, then it’s hard.”
But Ahern said she worries as well about possible legal challenges coming.
The state is already facing at least two lawsuits from parties outside Rhode Island challenging the residency and other participant requirements of the Cannabis Act, though the lawsuits haven’t stopped the Commission’s work so far.
Because of those unknowns, Ahern said it was impossible to know if any new cannabis stores will open in 2025.
“My goal is we avoid any further delay. But there are some great unknowns that have literally stopped progress, stopped the ability to license, in other states. So, it would be foolish for me to say yes or no to that question not knowing what’s about to come at us.”
Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI retail cannabis market will grow under new rules. What to know.