U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose on Wednesday preliminarily enjoined the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission, blocking a planned lottery for 20 cannabis retail licenses and halting review of all 97 applications submitted by the December 29, 2025 deadline, with licenses projected for award as early as May 2026.
Three federal lawsuits challenge Rhode Island's rule requiring 51% resident ownership of retail cannabis licenses. California entrepreneur Justyna Jensen and Florida resident John Kenney each sued the commission in May 2024; California's Justin Palmore filed a third on November 24, 2025. None had applied for a Rhode Island license.
DuBose dismissed the Jensen and Kenney suits in February 2025 as premature; the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston revived them last November, ordering her to rule at least 45 days before licenses were set to issue.
The court found the residency requirement not narrowly tailored to valid state interests; plaintiffs faced irreparable harm since the commission would issue no more than the 24 licenses under the 2022 Cannabis Act — six social equity, six worker-owned cooperatives, 12 standard. Incomplete zone coverage reduced the pool to 20.
"Knowing the Act was facing legal challenges in this Court, the CCC continued forward with its plan to implement the Act and its licensing scheme," DuBose wrote. "The resulting fall-out will be, to be blunt, self-inflicted."
Attorney Allan Fung, a former Republican Cranston mayor who represents several applicants, said: "It's frustrating that the state didn't fix the statute and settle these issues earlier on, or find a compromise with these three plaintiffs, before people put their life savings on the line. The industry can't afford to wait even longer."
The commission was not impaneled until June 2023 and finalized retail rules only in May 2025. Chairperson Kim Ahern stepped down in October to run for attorney general; Gov. Dan McKee (D) has yet to name a replacement.
Both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly have pending bills to remove the residency requirement, including one by Rep. Scott Slater, a Providence Democrat, heard by the House Committee on Corporations on March 12 and held for further study.
DuBose suggested refunding applicants or transferring applications to a new process. Andre Dev of the Community Cannabis Network of Rhode Island called for emergency regulations within 30 days removing the enjoined language, citing the act's severability clause. The commission meets at 2 p.m. April 17.