With R.I. cannabis commission confirmed, more stores could open in 2024 – The Boston Globe

Ahern, the deputy chief of staff to Governor Dan McKee, was expected to resign from her job upon confirmation.

The commission, modeled off of the Massachusetts commission by the same name, will soon start crafting new rules surrounding the industry, including how and when to issue additional retail licenses to sell cannabis.

The state law that legalized cannabis back in May 2022 — the R.I. Cannabis Act — says four retailers can be licensed in each of six geographic zones spread throughout the state. One retailer from each zone must be a “social equity” applicant, and another must be a worker-owned cooperative.

In an interview with the Globe, Ahern said she plans to embark on a listening tour across Rhode Island before making any decisions.

“We need to listen to those who are most closely affected by this,” Ahern said, including “those who have had prior marijuana convictions on their record.”

Ahern did not weigh in one of the biggest questions for those vying to get into the lucrative industry: how exactly will the 24 retailers be selected?

“The act very clearly left that decision-making to this future Cannabis Control Commission, and it’s something that myself and the other commissioners will need to thoughtfully consider,” Ahern said.

Former Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration chose a random lottery system to select medical marijuana dispensary applicants several years ago, a move that was predicated on avoiding an appearance of political meddling or favoritism in the decision. (The Jasiel Correia marijuana extortion scandal in Fall River was a factor in the decision to randomize the process.)

But the lottery was also criticized by business owners who thought a merit-based system should have been used, with the state weighing the applicants’ qualifications before selecting who should get a license.

“It’s not something I come into with a prejudged notion,” Ahern said, adding that the commission will study methods used in other states.

As for when the new stores could be open, Ahern said it would likely be in 2024, but she didn’t commit to a specific timeline. The commission first has to go through the rules and regulations process, which is expected to take months.

Ahern said once the commission gets going, she aims to meet weekly.

Rhode Island already has seven marijuana dispensaries that were initially granted medical marijuana licenses and are now allowed to sell recreational cannabis. But the hybrid dispensaries were meant to be a bridge measure until the cannabis commission could get up and running.

The yearlong delay has frustrated advocates who pushed for social equity measures in the law, which have not come to fruition yet without the commission.

The more than 60 businesses that grow cannabis have also expressed consternation at the delay, citing the fact that they have few places to sell their products. The cultivators cannot sell to the general public or across state lines, and most of the current Rhode Island dispensaries grow their own cannabis.

“It’s been incredibly hard and challenging as a small business here in Rhode Island to operate and to stay in business,” said Peter Kasabian, co-owner of Loud, a grow facility in Warwick.

Kasabian told the Globe the cultivators were elated when cannabis legalization passed last year, then frustrated by the subsequent delay.

Even dispensary owners have been frustrated. Despite being able to sell recreational cannabis, they are still barred from advertising under old regulations that were expected to be updated by the commission.

Fed up with seeing billboards for Massachusetts dispensaries all over the highway, Pawtucket dispensary owner Joe Pakuris last month put up his own billboards advertising Mother Earth Wellness, and was promptly ordered by the state to take them down or else pay hefty fines.

The General Assembly is slated to remedy the advertising issue by passing legislation this week to allow the Department of Business Regulation to update the existing regulations. Deputy DBR director Matt Santacroce told the Globe the agency will do so “immediately” once the bill becomes law.

McKee’s office has said the holdup in naming the cannabis commissioners was due to the need to conduct background checks. The law required the governor to name his picks within 40 days.

“We need the rollout of new stores immediately,” Kasabian said. “It was required to happen in 40 days, and here we are at the 12th hour of this session.”

Asked for her message to the struggling business owners, Ahern said: “I would say to them that our commission is ready to go and we want to hear from them directly.”

Who are the cannabis commissioners?

Ahern is the only full-time commissioner, but all three will be voting to make decisions about the cannabis industry, with the help of a yet-to-be-formed advisory board.

Their resumes all have one thing in common: law degrees from Roger Williams University School of Law.

Jacquard, a former state representative from Cranston, has been confirmed to the longest of the staggered terms, set to end in May 2026.

Jacquard was a Cranston police officer for more than 20 years, and also worked as a Cranston city solicitor. He’s currently a self-employed lawyer.

Jacquard’s appointment was initially criticized by good government group Common Cause Rhode Island, which pointed out he was a lobbyist for a Portsmouth cannabis dispensary as recently as last year.

The former lawmaker told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week he would recuse himself from any matters where there is a conflict of interest. He was not questioned about the issue at his confirmation hearing.

He told the committee his views on cannabis have “evolved” since he was police officer. “I think adults understand what they’re getting into and have the right to make their own decisions about such things,” he said.

Olayiwola Oduyingbo, who goes by Layi, is also a Cranston attorney, according to his resume. A “lifelong Rhode Islander,” Oduyingbo said his experience as a person of color would guide his work on the commission.

“Historically, the policing of drugs has disproportionately affected Black and brown communities,” Oduyingbo said at his confirmation hearing. “It is up to the commission to carry out its duties in a way that is equitable and just.”

Oduyingbo’s initial term expires next year. (After the initial staggered-length terms, commissioners will be eligible to be reappointed to a six-year term.)

Ahern worked for Raimondo before McKee, and was previously a special assistant attorney general handling human trafficking and animal abuse cases.

Her initial term is set to expire in 2025.

A spokesperson for McKee did not immediately say what Ahern’s salary will be. The other two members will receive stipends, the amounts of which have also not been announced.

Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @StephMachado.