Frustration is the only thing growing for dozens of people who want to get in on Rhode Island’s legal cannabis industry.

Oakton College will hold an event delving into the legalized cannabis industry and how it impacts Des Plaines. Cannabis Community Conversation will be held in the community college’s Des Plaines campus this Thursday, (April 16) at 4:30 p.m. in Room 2545. David Nadolski, adjunct professor in Communication and Cannabis Studies, described it as a conversation bringing together “educators, health professionals, cannabis industry representatives, and civic partners to discuss cannabis health, careers, workforce development, community engagement, and the evolving cannabis landscape in Des Plaines.” The event is free and open to the public.

Matthew Indest, Ph.D., taps his experience in conventional agriculture and horticulture breeding programs and extensive work in cannabis and hemp to share insights into breeding technologies set to change cannabis the fastest, important automation impacts, the science of drying and curing, and more.

Cannabis license applicants, cultivators, and industry leaders held a press conference on Monday to voice concerns about last week’s licensing injunction and demand expedited action from the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). Last week’s preliminary injunction on cannabis licensing in Rhode Island is the latest in a four-year pattern of delays that have benefited incumbent dispensaries while imposing serious financial harm on cultivators and applicants, especially workers’ cooperative and social equity applicants, who were required to invest heavily in the application process. As new licenses continue to be delayed, applicants hemorrhage monthly costs of maintaining viable applications, cultivators struggle to stay afloat in an oligopolistic market, the State forgoes millions in tax revenue, and a handful of incumbent dispensaries make extraordinary, nation-leading profits. The court decision that has now temporarily paused the licensing process was entirely predictable — the plaintiff in this case has filed the same lawsuit against multiple other states — and, as the Court noted, the “resulting fall-out will be, to be blunt, self-inflicted [by the CCC].” Combined with lengthy delays in issuing regulations, an unusually burdensome application process, and recent proposals to stagger license lotteries, the CCC has failed to fulfill its legislative mandate to issue new licenses promptly, causing financial harm to applicants and destabilizing Rhode Island’s entire cannabis industry. In response, Co-op Rhody and affiliated cooperative license applicants, allied cultivators, and political champions of cannabis justice called on the Cannabis Control Commission to act immediately by issuing emergency regulations and setting a clear licensing timeline that applicants, workers, investors, and cultivators can rely on. Here’s the video: “Background is important because it gets lost when we talk about cannabis regulation,” said Dr. Andre Dev, founding worker-owner of a cooperative license applicant and Founder of the Community Cannabis Network. “What was it that people voted for? When we talk to the CCC, regulators, and lawmakers, there is a lot of discussion about getting the regular and adult-use licenses out. But when we were talking to people who wanted to get recreational cannabis passed back in 2022, what they cared about was that the people who suffered from the war on drugs would be the ones who actually got to benefit from its legalization. Because a lot of people have been dealing with difficult regulatory challenges, we don’t have an industry right now where the people who suffered from the war on drugs are the ones who benefit from the legalization of cannabis, not even a little bit. “Since 2022, recreational cannabis has been legal. But in practice, there are only nine open retailers for 58 open cultivators. That was supposed to be temporary. We have spent four years dealing with various legal challenges and issues at the State House. These delays have almost permanently distorted the way the market works in a way that’s not good for cultivators, anybody else trying to get into the business, and certainly not for people of color and people who were harmed by the war on drugs. And at the end of the day, the customers as well. “There was a report from the Whitney Institute that estimates the state of Rhode Island is losing $7-14 million per year in tax revenue by not releasing these licenses. When we talk about cannabis, the media misses the important context of how imbalanced this industry is, how long that’s been going on, and the context of what this industry could be for customers here in Rhode Island, where we could have way more options, and we don’t. “I don’t want to blame the CCC. A lot of this is about litigation, lawmakers, and rulemakers. The dormant commerce clause lawsuit was completely foreseeable. It should have been dealt with, and it is in everyone’s best interest that we find a way to release as many licenses as possible as soon as possible. That’s what I’m trying to get across here today. “I’ll say one more thing, just for background, on the dormant commerce clause. This is from Damien Fagan of the Parabola Center for Law and Policy. To understand the basic legal problem here, the dormant commerce clause protects the flow of lawful goods between states. Cannabis has no lawful interstate market, and transporting it across state lines remains a federal crime, so extending this doctrine to state cannabis licensing produces a perverse result. The people most harmed by prohibition are blocked from participating in these legal markets created to repair harm, while litigants with no connection to the affected communities use federal courts to force those markets open. “The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission should use every tool available under state law to keep the licensing process moving and protect the cooperative and equity applicants who invested in good faith.” “The choices of the Cannabis Control Commission have resulted in zero licenses being awarded four years after the passage of the Rhode Island Cannabis Act,” said Tre Miller, Vice Chair of Co-op Rhody and founding worker-owner of a cooperative license applicant. “We see a cannabis industry status quo that concentrates wealth. Less-capitalized applicants will be forced to drop out, which will make the license pool less local and less diverse and will harm people who have put in the work and money in good faith. The ongoing costs of retaining real estate add up over time. If the CCC fails to act quickly, the cycle of the rich getting richer will only multiply. There’s an amazing collection of cooperative organizations across the state working tirelessly to overcome hurdle after hurdle. As vice chair of Co-op Rhody, I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many of these amazing individuals. “The passion and dedication shown by these, hopefully, future worker-owners have been inspirational. The setback to the lottery is essentially pushing the finish line back to an even more uncertain point. Uncertainty makes it more difficult to plan and build trust with investors, adding yet another layer to the ways these applicants are being affected financially. Rhode Island has set aside historic, first-in-the-nation worker-owned cannabis licenses. Esteban Kelly, the Executive Director of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, said in his keynote speech at the Principle Six Conference in Maine last year that this licensing provision is the new standard for creating equity in the cannabis market. The world is watching to see what happens next. There’s a massive opportunity here, not only to increase the amount of middle-class wages available here in the state, but to set an example of what an equitable cannabis economy could look like. “There’s also the bonus that the business structure of a worker-owned cooperative helps ensure ownership is local and organic. With 51% of ownership held by worker-owners, there’s a natural limit on how far away each employee could live. For advocates and policymakers who want to keep the industry locally owned, getting cooperatives across the finish line is a great way to do that. “From an early age, I learned that optimism is often perceived as naivete and that believing a better world is possible is a challenging perspective. I’ve never succumbed to the pessimism that so many people claim to be realism. It seems clear to me that the world exists as it does because of the decisions people make, not because of an inherent nature of how things have to be. I challenge the CCC to take action and make the change that will position their department as the standard for an agency that brings in a better world. I urge the CCC to take immediate action, using whatever legal strategies are available, to ensure licensing lotteries are held as soon as possible.” “Due to poor planning, lack of foresight, and favors to existing operators, we are about to have another significant delay.” “I am a Rhode Island workers’ cooperative applicant, and I would like to come by today to share a little about my experience,” said Asher Schofield, founding worker-owner of a cooperative license applicant and owner of Frog & Toad. “First off, I should let you know that for 25 years, I’ve operated a brick-and-mortar retail business in Providence. I’m familiar with how challenging it can be to be a small business owner, competing against large-scale corporate entities from out of state, like Amazon, Walmart, or what have you. I’ve also come to experience, pretty much every November and December, elected officials coming through my shop and others, espousing the idea of shopping local and always trumpeting that the locally owned businesses are the backbone of our economy. While I appreciate that sentiment, the question persists, ‘Does Rhode Island talk the talk and walk the walk, or are we just saying a buzz phrase, something that’s going to ingratiate us with the voting population?’ “We’re seeing, in real time, how this state’s bureaucracy views shopping locally and supporting small operators. Thanks to the CCC, we’ve experienced a cannabis license rollout that has been, charitably, as slow as molasses. It’s been incredibly difficult to navigate the process for both myself and other small-scale operators aspiring to win licenses. We began the process in earnest at the beginning of 2022, working in good faith to secure a business location from a property owner. In that time, we have spent about $100,000 navigating this process. This covers legal fees, zoning, property improvements, application fees, etc. This has been an oppressive time for middle-class professionals hoping to earn a license, and it’s not sustainable. [The current state of things] only benefits those who have enormous wealth, existing operators from out of state, and people with corporate ties. “This is no way to be a friend of independent commerce. This puts a chokehold on independent commerce. Rhode Island had the opportunity to be at the vanguard of the workers’ cooperative cannabis industry, the first in the nation, and instead, we’re smothering it. We’re smothering any hope of that happening because people can’t compete with this timeframe and expense. Due to poor planning, lack of foresight, and favors to existing operators, we are about to have another significant delay. “Given the number of states that have successfully rolled out robust cannabis markets, there should have been a clear example to point to, one that Rhode Island could have followed to operate efficiently and successfully. We missed all those signs and clear signals about how to do this effectively. Instead, the Cannabis Control Commission has been effectively keeping cannabis in the hands of the few. “With a process this unnecessarily long and expensive, the CCC is protecting a sustained oligopoly while squeezing out potential competition. It’s outrageous, and they need to open the marketplace and let the best business concept survive (I do not doubt that it will be a cooperative), otherwise, that familiar mantra of shopping local and shopping small and supporting local businesses rings hollow.” “There is no statute of limitations on corruption, and if we find it, we’re coming.” “When we finally established the CCC, and we had a three-panel board, I was optimistic because ... things were moving forward,” said Jason Calderon, owner of the cultivator Bonsai Bud and a licensed applicant. “Positive things were happening. As many of you are aware, the head of the CCC stepped down in the middle of this process and, in my opinion, set the process back significantly... We were told that everything would move forward under the status quo and that we would reach a resolution. Up until April 8th, I truly believed that. “Then the eighth happened... It punched me in the gut and made me feel like everything we were pushing towards was two steps forward, 10 steps back. That’s where we are right now. We had addressed this situation well over a year ago. We brought this to CCC’s attention. This lawsuit has been going on since 2024. Everybody was aware of it. For a department made up entirely of attorneys, we thought we were being fed the correct information and that we truly had a path forward. Speaking for myself, that made me comfortable spending the money to apply to one of these stores. “I’m over $60,000 into this project to date, with no end in sight... I don’t believe I can sustain six months, let alone a year plus, of paying rent on a building where I’m not recouping any expenses... All of us here have done the work in establishing our locations. [Finding locations] had to be a strategic thing: you had to be well placed, and you had to be in an area that would see foot traffic because competition was going to grow. “The people here who have done their due diligence in securing these locations may lose them, and therefore identified properties for future applicants who got to sit on the sidelines, wait this process out, and spend no money. Now they’re going to have their pick of the litter. “It makes you ask, ‘Was this a deliberate thing? With an office full of attorneys, how was this not foreseen? How was this not jumped ahead of? Why are we here in this position today?’ “This is boggling to me. As somebody who has attended almost every CCC meeting, who has spoken at the State House countless times, and who has given more news interviews than most, to be caught off guard like this ... I feel naive. I feel slightly stupid for having trusted and believed that everything was happening in good faith. “I no longer believe that. I can’t stand here today and say that this process has been done in good faith. Had this been addressed a year ago, we wouldn’t be in this position today. We sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting here, on the verge of bankruptcy, had this been addressed when we brought it up. We have CCC meetings once a month. We’ve addressed this issue countless times. The same people that you’re going to hear from today have spoken about this countless times. Yet we’re still here today. “I don’t know if there’s a path forward without pressure, true community engagement, and holding people accountable. We have elections coming up, and we’ve always been told that that’s our voice. That’s where we can make a change. Now, more than ever, we need to exercise that. We need to come together. We need to get this out in front of everybody. The more people who are on board for this, the stronger our voices will be, and the better shot we have of getting a resolution. At the end of the day, that’s what everybody wants: a resolution, a timeframe for that resolution, and not to be kept in the dark as we have been for years. “This is my ninth year in the cannabis industry, and in nine years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the goalposts moved for certain individuals and companies. When is enough, enough? How many times can we make the same argument before something is done and people are held accountable? I hope we can bring attention to this, hold people accountable, and start putting some butts to the fire. “Through this process, I’ve been vocal, and I’ve lost my ability to sell at one dispensary for being vocal, and I can only imagine that’s not going to get better the more vocal I am. But I’m at a point now where it’s like, if you don’t speak, you’re going to lose your business. If you do speak, you may lose your business. It’s the doo-in-the-corner scenario. You can only back somebody in a corner for so long before they’re going to come out clawing. That’s where I’m at now. I’ve succumbed to the pressure of the monopolies and the gatekeeping that’s been going on, and I’ve had enough. Now I’m going to talk, and I’m going to ask, “What’s going on?” and I’m not going to stop. Even if I lose my license, I’m not going to stop. The state’s going to hear about me for as long as the program’s going on here. There is coming a time when federally, cannabis is going to be regulated and controlled. There is no statute of limitations on corruption, and if we find it, we’re coming.” “I know we’re here today to discuss the retail stores that the entire cannabis industry has anxiously been awaiting, but I wanted to take it back to the roots of cannabis and talk a little bit about how it all started,” said Carly Gregory, a cultivator who applied for and received a cultivation license back in 2016-17. “It’s rooted in medicine. Most people you meet today, if cannabis comes up, you’ll hear stories about symptom management of cancer, MS patients, and seizure patients. When cultivation licenses first opened up back in 2017, my family decided to apply because we, like many other cultivators who applied, truly believed in the medicinal power of cannabis and creating access for patients across the state. Back then, in 2017, there were just the three stores open, and we were told that we were going to have the license to farm the crop, to be the grower, and there’d be a separate license to sell. “That’s how you create a free and fair market. What happened, however, was that the six newly approved stores were allowed to grow. They immediately became vertically integrated and completely devalued the cultivation license. Overnight, this happened. We were promised, ‘We told you you’re going to have the license to grow, but now that this is happening, we’ll be opening up stores for you soon.’ “We’re coming up on nearly a decade of cultivators struggling to survive in a market that’s being completely suffocated. So, I know we’re talking about retail licenses today, but the reality is that as these retail stores open, patients will go to them to get their medicine. Patient access should be at the top of the priority list because these are public licenses meant to serve the people. “We own and operate a public license intended to serve the people. Rhode Island cultivators, as a group, have invested more money into cannabis infrastructure than anyone. I would say in excess of a hundred million dollars. We’re talking about people’s livelihoods and life savings. Many of these cannabis cultivators are small family businesses. We invested this money to serve as the bedrock of the cannabis industry. We’re your supplier. We’re growing every plant with love and care. We care deeply about this plant. Unfortunately, that bedrock has been continuously hammered on for nearly a decade. “It’s time that we all come together. We create access for these patients. We create an opportunity for a free, fair, and healthy market. We’re seeing stakeholders coming together around a shared vision: to get this plant and its products to the people who need them and want to enjoy them recreationally.” “The CCC’s inaction in prioritizing social equity and worker co-op licenses to repair that harm and give thousands of Rhode Islanders an opportunity is unconscionable.” “My story began as someone who, with family members, was directly impacted,” said State Representative Cherie Cruz (Democrat, District 58, Pawtucket). “I fought to get that act in place. In 2022, we led the way in passing the Rhode Island Cannabis Act by highlighting worker cooperatives and social equity licenses. But as we see today, that was in name only. So many are waiting to see that act realized. I remember organizations such as Regulate Rhode Island, medical patients, the Co-op, Rhode Island ACLU, Reclaim RI, the Formerly Incarcerated Union, and so many others coming together in 2021 to create the Yes We Cannabis Coalition to focus on getting that fight over the finish line and to ensure that people who were directly impacted by this war on cannabis had a chance to repair the harm that comes with criminalization, specifically the economic harm to those families and their communities. “That economic harm continues today. “That war impacted me. My family spent decades relying on public assistance due to the collateral consequences. My son spent three months in jail for a dime bag. When we think about this failed war on cannabis, there are long-term negative effects we need to take care of. There were barriers to employment and housing, and we’re still seeing them today. Our coalition fought for a more diverse and inclusive cannabis industry, with robust worker cooperatives and social equity license applicants driven not by large corporate interests but by the people who care most about our communities: fellow Rhode Islanders. Yet here we are today, still fighting, as large corporate actors continue to benefit from the legislation we fought for and to post record profits. Legislation intended to help those directly impacted and begin to repair the economic harm in our community. “We knew that once the act passed, the work was nowhere near finished. The CCC’s inaction in prioritizing social equity and worker co-op licenses to repair that harm and give thousands of Rhode Islanders an opportunity is unconscionable. The CCC has behaved as a gatekeeper for large corporate interests, keeping the industry in the hands of the few; the same handful of businesses making millions, while the CCC’s inaction has maintained a status quo that is severely harming small entrepreneurs and business owners you heard from here today. It’s even more egregious in a state that had record numbers of Black, brown, and poor community members who were disproportionately targeted, arrested, and incarcerated for cannabis related violations. Social equity licensed applicants, some of whom were literally locked up for cannabis, continue to be locked out of the same industry. “As of today, the intent and spirit of the law so many of us fought for has yet to be realized. Those most harmed by the war on cannabis, again, Black, brown, and poor communities, cannot afford to wait any longer. I’m calling out the Cannabis Control Commission and the legislature to do what you need to do, now, to make sure that this is realized. We can’t wait any longer, and we can’t further this harm.” Q&A: Reporter: There’s been a concern about oversaturating the market. What do you say to that? Andre Dev: At a public meeting about this a couple of weeks ago, the cultivators presented a report explaining how much excess capacity there is in Rhode Island for new retailers and how much money we’re leaving on the table by not allowing new retailers. The economists who wrote that report do not believe oversaturation is a very serious problem. I would add that CCC Administrator Michelle Reddish, whom we love, also did some research on this about how many licenses are needed per person in Rhode Island and how much excess capacity we have compared to other states. If you went to that public committee, you would see a very clear pattern. Existing retailers expressed concern about oversaturation, while everyone else, including 98 applicants and 58 cultivators, held the opposite view. The issue in our market is very simple: A lot of cultivators, not enough retailers. Steve Ahlquist: Is oversaturation just an excuse to favor the current retailers? Andre Dev: I’m not going to speak about people’s mental state, what people think about it, but the result is that it favors current retailers, people who have had an oligopoly they were never meant to have and never part of the law, for years. Steve Ahlquist: I heard people here today say things like “favor” and “intentional.” What does it take to say that it is intentional? What level of proof would be needed? Andre Dev: I think, for one, it was never really clear who raised the concern about oversaturation or where it came from. Maybe that’s the way I would go. Where did that come from? Because the basic economics of it don’t make sense. Steve Ahlquist: Is it hard, from a licensee’s point of view, to trust the CCC to do the right thing now, since they haven’t for four years? Carly Gregory: I know the cultivators definitely are ... for us, it’s been a decade since the original licenses were distributed. There’s definitely a lot of frustration, and I would say there’s some mistrust between us. SteveAhlquist.news is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Share

The state’s Medical Cannabis Commission announced Callie’s Apothecary, in Montgomery, could begin serving patients on May 4.