Most Rhode Island Marijuana Social Equity License Applicants Have Been Disqualified

The commission also adopted new rules for hemp products.

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Currant

Only 38 percent of pre-applicants for a cannabis retail license reserved for those adversely affected by the war on drugs have qualified to submit a formal application, the Cannabis Control Commission announced Friday afternoon.

Of 94 requests to be considered for a social equity license, 36 met eligibility criteria after being screened. They were certified by the commission in a 2-0 vote Friday and now have until December 29 to submit their applications to go into a lottery. The commission will award six social equity licenses through that lottery.

The vote was the first taken since the departure of Chairperson Kimberly Ahern, who stepped down from her $204,069-a-year post on October 21 to make a run for state attorney general in 2026.

Ahern’s usual seat between commissioners Layi Oduyingbo and Robert Jacquard sat empty as the two remaining members conducted business. In addition to voting to certify social equity applicants who passed the eligibility screening, the board formally adopted hemp regulations previously handled by another agency.

Oduyingbo and Jacquard both thanked Ahern for doing the yeoman’s work in getting them through the past two-and-a-half years worth of meetings, which included the establishment of the rules governing Rhode Island’s recreational pot industry.

Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Gov. McKee’s (D) office, on Monday said the governor’s team is still working on identifying a nominee to replace Ahern. That nominee would require Senate approval and is expected to be presented early in the next legislative session, DaRocha said.

“In the meantime, the commission continues its work,” DaRocha wrote in an email to Rhode Island Current.

Social equity pre-applicant screenings were conducted by Massachusetts-based Creative Services, Inc.

To be certified and continue in the application process, social equity applicants must meet one of five criteria:

1. 51 percent ownership and control by one or more people who have resided for at least five of the preceding 10 years in a disproportionately impacted area.
2. 51 percent ownership and control by one or more individuals who either have been arrested/incarcerated for drug offenses that have since been decriminalized or have had a family member impacted by the war on drugs.
3. A minimum of 10 full-time employees with at least 51 percent of current employees residing in a disproportionately impacted area or were arrested/convicted for marijuana charges.
4. The ability to demonstrate significant past experience in, or business practices that promote, economic empowerment in disproportionally impacted areas.
5. Income not exceeding 400 percent of the median income, as defined by the commission, in a disproportionally impacted area for at least five of the past 10 years.

Disproportionately impacted areas were determined under state regulations by federal poverty level, unemployment rate, the number of students in a free school lunch program, and historic arrest rates by census tract. This applied to tracts in five Rhode Island municipalities: Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket.

Those who didn’t meet the criteria can still apply for a standard license. Applications for all license types are due by December 29.

Under the 2022 act that legalized recreational cannabis, the commission can offer 24 new licenses to retailers, with six reserved for social equity applicants and another six reserved for worker-owned cooperatives. All recreational licenses will be spread throughout six geographic zones, with a maximum of four stores per zone.

Starting January 1, 2026, the state’s Cannabis Office will have 90 days to review applications and verify that each meets eligibility qualifications before being placed in a lottery. The timeline established during the commission’s October 20 meeting builds in at least 60 days to allow applicants to secure approvals at the local level in order to qualify for random selection.

Regulators expect to start awarding licenses as soon as May 2026.

What’s going on with hemp?

Commissioners also voted to formally adopt regulations for hemp products manufactured and sold in Rhode Island. The rules had been accepted under an emergency order in July, after the commission assumed hemp oversight from the Department of Business Regulation ahead of its transfer to the new Cannabis Office.

Carla Aveledo, policy liaison for the commission, told the panel that rules were mostly unchanged. Regulations still require product testing, labeling in a way that does not appeal to minors, and restricting sales to people age 21 or older.

All products can contain up to 1 milligrams of total THC—the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant—per serving, or 5 milligrams of total THC per package. That’s somewhat at odds with the new rules passed by the federal government meant to tighten loopholes that have allowed for the proliferation of psychoactive hemp products such as beverages and edibles.

“Staff is going to continue to monitor federal legislation and any changes to ensure that the Rhode Island hemp laws are in line with any federal requirements,” Aveledo said.

Rhode Island has allowed intoxicating hemp drinks since August 2024. The policy has split the cannabis industry, which mostly opposes the products, and the liquor industry, which backs them but wants exclusive control over where they’re sold.

The divide caused the General Assembly to request that the Cannabis Control Commission conduct a study of dosage limits, packaging standards, labeling requirements, licensing conditions, and other ways to ensure children don’t accidentally consume the intoxicating drinks.

The commission’s recommendations are due to state lawmakers by March 1, 2026. The commission plans to hold listening sessions early next year as it shapes its study, Charon Rose, spokesperson for the commission, said Monday.

This story was first published by Rhode Island Currant.