The right to defer this process is reserved based on several factors that are outside of our control. We will find it difficult to delay the process if, for example, we get thousands of applications.
Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Currant
Rhode Island cannabis regulators may award new retail licenses as soon as May 2026 to business owners who are eager to enter the growing market in Rhode Island.
This is according to the timeline that was adopted by the Cannabis Control Commission on Monday. This timeline will determine the speed at which officials review the applications of the 24 retail licenses available in the state after December 29th, 2025.
Kimberly Ahern stated, “It seems clear to me we have to be better prepared to predict what will happen in the months to come after the application portal shuts down at the end of calendar year.” “We’ve never discussed what the year 2026 holds.”
Beginning January 1, 2020, the Cannabis Office of New York State will have 90-days to examine applications and confirm that they meet eligibility criteria before entering them into a lottery. Ahern stated that the timetable includes at least sixty days for applicants to receive local approvals in order to be eligible to participate in random selection.
Ahern stated that the process of lottery selection will begin in the second half of 2026. This is likely to be in May.
Ahern added, “I would like to say that we have the right to defer this process based on external factors beyond our control.” It will be difficult to delay the process if, for example, we get thousands of applications.
Charon Rose, a spokesperson for Rhode Island Current, said that no retail application has been received by the cannabis office of the state as of Monday.
Objection to getting your ducks in order
Robert Jacquard was the sole vote against the review schedule of regulators. He argued it would be unfair to allow businesses to obtain local zoning approvals if they applied after the deadline.
He said: “I think it’s important if an applicant was better prepared, more financially stable, or got an early start.” We have been releasing our regulations for some time now, and people are well aware that no extensions will be granted beyond the set deadlines.
Many of those in the Rhode Island cannabis industry present at the Warwick meeting of the Public Utilities Commission shared the same sentiments.
Karen Ballou of CultivatingRI told the commissioners that many of her employees had invested a lot of time and effort in securing locations compliant with regulations, paying rents, buying properties and obtaining special zoning and use permits. I understand that some municipalities make it hard for applicants to meet requirements. However, this should not punish those who are successful in the process.
The state has delayed the opening of medical cannabis businesses in Woonsocket, Foster and other towns due to disagreements with officials and landowners. This caused them to miss their initial deadline for nine months.
Not every community is ready to accept a retail cannabis shop. In 2022, voters in six communities—Barrington, East Greenwich, Jamestown, Little Compton, Scituate and Smithfield—rejected allowing retail pot shops within their borders.
Ballou stated that, if it is really necessary for regulators to allow some applicants additional time to collect all the required materials together, these businesses should be put through a lottery.
Sasha Gorski is the co-owner and founder of Talaria. She agreed that the 60 day window for obtaining local permits should not apply to retail applications.
She said, “It’s painful to be punished because you are ahead.”
Others in the room, however, argued that the review timeline of the commission helps create a feeling of fairness at a time when the Rhode Island retail industry is growing.
Emma Karnes told the Commission that applicants need to have breathing space in order to follow the right channels. “I believe we want to have a good pool of applicants.” All of us want an accessible application procedure.
Karnes noted that some applicants who are seeking worker cooperatives and licenses for social equity may not possess the capital or resources of other potential business owners. Alexa Goodrich Huska is one of those applicants who wants to start the Living Room Cannabis Cooperative in Zone 1. This zone includes Burrillville and Cumberland as well as Glocester North Smithfield Smithfield Woonsocket.
Goodrich-Houska stated that “we don’t even have trust funds or big corporations to back us.” The documentation alone takes four to twelve months, and can cost up to $50,000.
That’s on top of the $7,500 application fee, a yearly $30,000 licensing fee that all cannabis retailers face—though that application fee will be waived for the first year for approved social equity applicants.
Ahern recognized the industry’s concerns and frustrations over not being able to obtain new licenses, but reminded members that it would never be a “rubber stamp” process.
She added, “We will expect an extremely robust and thorough procedure.” It was not going to happen overnight or in just a couple of weeks.
The 2022 Act that legalized cannabis for recreational use allows the Commission to offer new retail licenses. Six of these will be reserved for applicants who are socially responsible, and six more for cooperatives owned by workers. Each recreational license will be distributed across six zones. There can only be four stores in each zone.
Applicants have up to 60 days to demonstrate they have final zoning approval from the municipality where they intend to operate their business—a provision Ahern said was included partly because of the commission’s slow rollout in getting potential social equity applicants certified.
In late August, the commission opened an initial screening for applicants who are social equity. These include prospective retailers whose owners or employees have been adversely affected in the drug war. The certification deadline for social equity licensing expired on September 29. After that date, the commission received 94 applications.
As of Monday, all screened applicants should have received a letter informing them whether they are eligible for the Social Equity Criteria set by the State. Applicants who initially do not meet the requirements of the Commission will be given an additional 10 days to demonstrate that they are social equity applicants.
​​Regulations approved by the commission earlier in the year require that social equity applicants have at least 51 percent ownership and control by individuals directly impacted by past cannabis laws or economic disparities, or a minimum of 10 full-time employees that meet the same criteria.
Qualifying factors include convictions for nonviolent cannabis offenses or residency in disproportionately impacted areas—which can be determined by federal poverty level, unemployment rate, the number of students in a free school lunch program and historic arrest rates by census tract.
Commission expected to give final approval in November.
This article was originally published in Rhode Island Currant.