On a Roll

The “Flower Bar” at Mother Earth Wellness in Pawtucket. Photography by Angel Tucker

The "Flower Bar" at Mother Earth Wellness in Pawtucket.

The Rhode Island Cannabis Act, passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Dan McKee in May 2022, legalized adult cannabis use in Rhode Island. (Medical marijuana sales have been legal since 2009.) 

But some detractors were frustrated that Governor Dan McKee waited a year to appoint members to the Cannabis Control Commission, which is responsible for licensing, regulation and enforcement of adult-use and medical marijuana. New dispensaries were, in effect, put on hold and existing ones couldn’t advertise during the limbo because of a loophole in the medical marijuana law. 

After McKee appointed three members in May 2023, the commission quickly crafted new advertising regulations, wrapped up a listening tour in August and started to hire staffers. 

Three themes emerged during the statewide meetings, says commission chair Kim Ahern: the importance of the social equity aspect of retail licensing; prevention coalition members who urged members to remember children and childhood safety issues when issuing licenses; and cultivators who stressed the need to issue retail licenses quickly. 

“There are too many cultivators and not enough stores,” says Spencer Blier, CEO and founder of Mammoth Inc., a Warwick firm that produces various strains of cannabis flower as well as cannabis concentrate and vape pods. “There have been some tough times, but we’re figuring it out, working on branding and marketing and getting the name out there.” 

The commission can grant up to twenty-four retail licenses, for a total of thirty-three retailers across the state. (Rhode Island currently has seven dispensaries and two licensees that have yet to open a business.) 

Members are hoping to avoid Massachusetts’ fate, which has seen several dispensaries close in recent months  because of oversaturation. The Bay State has seen almost $5 billion in adult-use sales since 2018.

“Cannabis retail shops that opened up in Massachusetts are in the process of closing because they had unlimited growth,” Ahern says. “I’m thankful that the General Assembly was very thoughtful in the way we passed this act. We can give up to twenty-four licenses, which is obviously a limited number. It’s not unlimited.”

The commission will work with a nineteen-member Cannabis Advisory Board and the Department of Business Regulation’s Office of Cannabis Regulation to issue licenses, guidelines and recommendations going forward.