Rhode Island restarts stalled licensing race

OCEAN STATE
Rhode Island’s finally opening up a cannabis market 🌊

Driving the news: Five years after Rhode Island legalized cannabis, the Ocean State is taking a second crack at licensing a legal market, with the help of a legislative end-around over a federal lawsuit that stopped the state in its licensing tracks.

The lawsuit blocked residency requirements, so the state legislature updated its cannabis law.

What they’re saying: "Certain prior provisions of the Cannabis Act no longer exist and the Commission cannot follow a law that no longer exists," said Michelle Reddish, Chair of the Cannabis Control Commission during its July 24 meeting.

A legal road block: The state's licensing process was halted on April 8, 2026, thanks to a lawsuit from perennial litigant Jeffrey Jensen and his wife, Justyn Jensen. The duo sued the Ocean State in 2024, claiming that the state's requirement that license applicants reside in-state discriminated against other applicants as per the U.S. Constitution's Dormant Commerce Clause.

In short, the dormant commerce clause says that states cannot interfere with interstate commerce, and ownership of cannabis licenses falls under that restriction.

The state's Cannabis Control Commission approved during its July 24 meeting, a move that would restart the state's licensing process under new rule passed by the legislature that removes residency requirements, removes as references to "disproportionately impact areas" and reduces the social equity qualification requirements.

Zoom Out: Rhode Island’s legislature legalized cannabis in 2022. At the time, the state’s eight medical operators were the only ones permitted to sell to the general public, supported by 57 licensed cultivators.

State regulations split up Rhode Island into six regions, with each getting four licenses. Of those 24, each region had one license reserved for social equity candidates and one license for worker co-ops.

The CCC approved the final rules that allow for the issuance of retail licenses on April 11, 2025. Ninety-seven applicants submitted their bids by the Dec. 29 deadline to be included in the lottery. Not every reserved license type received an application, so the state planned to issue a total of 20 licenses.

With the new law in place, former applicants will receive refunds, and the gates are open for the new assortment of aspiring cannabis operators in Rhode Island.

Our Take: With New Hampshire in tow, Rhode Island is the second-to-last state in New England to license a new market of cannabis operators. 

Lawsuit hiccups aside, the Ocean State is poised to finally jump start a market that for the last few years, existing medical operators have dominated.

-ZH

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