The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission appealed Tuesday an April 8 federal injunction that halted the state's lottery to award 20 new cannabis retail licenses planned for as early as May. The commission met in closed session for about an hour before filing the appeal at 4:04 p.m. Chief legal counsel Mariana Ormonde said a public update would come Friday at the commission's monthly session at the Public Utilities Commission offices in Warwick.
Three out-of-state entrepreneurs sued, arguing Rhode Island's rule that cannabis license holders be majority state-resident-owned violates the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause. U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose initially dismissed the cases in February 2025 because two predated the state's inaugural cannabis regulations enacted in May 2025, but Boston's federal appeals court revived them in December, ordering DuBose to rule on the merits.
The injunction blocks review of all 97 pending applications. Lisa Ann Pontarelli, part-owner of a social equity applicant in Cranston, said she and her partners have invested "at least six figures" toward a shop at a former Pizza Hut on Reservoir Avenue.
Rep. Scott Slater (D-Providence) introduced legislation January 30 to remove the residency requirement; Sen. Jacob Bisaillon (D-Providence) filed a companion bill February 6. Both cleared committee hearings March 12 and were held for further study. ACLU of Rhode Island Executive Director Steven Brown warned that both bills retain Rhode Island-specific social equity criteria — the 2022 Cannabis Act ties eligibility partly to Rhode Island Board of Education data — which could still bar out-of-state applicants. "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," he said.
Roger Williams University School of Law professor Michael Yelnosky said federal illegality does not insulate state cannabis markets from dormant commerce clause scrutiny. Maine and New York had to revise their licensing rules after similar legal defeats; Washington's requirement was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"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," Ormonde said.
The commission chair has been vacant since October, when Kim Ahern resigned to run for state attorney general. Gov. Dan McKee's (D) office said the search "remains a priority."