Rhode Island Marijuana Officials Appeal Federal Court Ruling Blocking Licensing Lottery

No details of the commission’s conversation on the three federal lawsuits filed by out-of-state entrepreneurs, along with the commission’s next steps, were disclosed upon their return to open session.

The only action taken during the special meeting was to seal the minutes of the executive session and adjourn at around 12:30 p.m. The state’s appeal was filed at 4:04 p.m.

A public update will come Friday during the panel’s monthly open session at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) offices in Warwick, chief legal counsel Mariana Ormonde told Rhode Island Current after the meeting.

“I know for a lot of people this looks like it came out of left field,” she said. “But we’ve been litigating these cases for years, and we actually got the cases dismissed at one point—now they’re back.”

Commissioner Robert Jacquard issued a similar statement at the beginning of the meeting before making the motion to enter executive session.

“We talk about litigation cases in every executive session of our regular monthly meeting,” he said. “This is not as if we have not talked about them in the last week. Due to the opinion that came out last week, we thought it was prudent that we meet as soon as possible to talk about this again because we know how important it is to so many people.”

Plaintiffs in each case argued the residency requirement violated the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from engaging in protectionist practices against other states.

DuBose had initially dismissed the complaints in February 2025 since two were filed before the state’s inaugural cannabis regulations were enacted in May 2025 by the commission. But the cases were revived in December by Boston’s federal appeals court, which demanded DuBose rule based on the merits of the cases.

The recent injunction against the state means none of the 97 prospective applicants can get their applications reviewed by regulators. It also means would-be business owners will continue to bleed money as they wait to learn whether they can open up their stores.

Lisa Ann Pontarelli, part-owner of a social equity applicant in Cranston, told Rhode Island Current that she and her partners have collectively put in “at least six figures” in their bid to open up a shop at a former Pizza Hut on Reservoir Avenue.

“Everything’s in order, everything is waiting,” she said while the commission was meeting in closed session. “It’s all crazy that we’ve been waiting here because of a decision from a judge that doesn’t really make any sense.”

The ruling does make sense to the ACLU of Rhode Island, whose executive director notes that federal law generally supersedes state law when there’s a conflict.

“I don’t think a state law becomes immune from constitutional scrutiny because people would argue that they probably shouldn’t have the power to pass the law in the first place,” ACLU of Rhode Island Executive Director Steven Brown said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Michael Yelnosky, a professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, said while cannabis is an unlawful market at the federal level, that does not mean states that allow its sales are exempt from judicial interpretation of the dormant commerce clause.

“It’s not a legal market, but it’s a market,” he said.

Legal challenges have been filed against states that tried to impose residency requirements, including Maine and New York. Both states then had to update their retail cannabis license rules. Washington’s residency requirement was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier in the year.

Because of the other legal challenges, applicant Jason Calederon, who hopes to open a shop in North Kingstown, says the commission should have tried to get Rhode Island’s law changed at any point throughout the lawsuit.

“At any time, they could have called the House or Senate and said we need to amend this law,” Calderon said. “It’s their ball to run.”

Two state lawmakers, both Providence Democrats, introduced legislation that would eliminate the residency requirement from Rhode Island’s cannabis law at the beginning of the 2026 legislative session.

Rep. Scott Slater (D) introduced his bill on January 30. A companion bill by Sen. Jacob Bisaillon (D) was introduced February 6. Both bills were the subject of committee hearings by their respective chambers on March 12 and held for further study, as is standard procedure for an initial review by a legislative panel.

But Brown warns the legislation as written may not fully resolve the state’s legal challenge. Both bills still include Rhode Island references in its requirements to apply for social equity licenses, which are reserved for those adversely affected by the war on drugs.

The 2022 Rhode Island Cannabis Act requires social equity applicants to be from a “disproportionately impacted area.” Among the qualifiers are being from an area where 75 percent or more of the children participate in the federal free lunch program, according to reported statistics from the Rhode Island Board of Education.

“Those Rhode Island references are just as problematic because they would have the same effect of automatically disqualifying any out-of-state applicants for these particular licenses,” Brown said.

Ormonde says the commission’s role is to abide by the laws set by the General Assembly.

“The statute is the province of the legislature,” she said. “Cannabis law is constantly evolving—we’re just doing our best going forward with the Cannabis Act that we’ve been provided that we need to follow.”

Slater told Rhode Island Current Tuesday he’s still awaiting guidance from the Cannabis Control Commission’s attorneys on what language could be added to ensure the changes to Rhode Island’s cannabis law meet constitutional muster.

“Maybe by Friday when they convene and release more details they’ll have some fixes,” he said in a phone interview.

An agenda has not yet been posted for Friday’s meeting scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Cannabis Control Commission has three members, but the chair has been vacant since October when former Chairperson Kim Ahern resigned to pursue a run for state attorney general.

Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Gov. Dan McKee’s (D) office said in an email Tuesday that the search process is underway and “remains a priority.”

“We’ll share updates as they become available,” DaRocha said.