Unfreeze Rhode Island's Cannabis Licenses Now

Over 100 Rhode Islanders — many from communities targeted by decades of drug enforcement — are still locked out of the cannabis industry despite a legal fix already being signed into law.

A letter to your state legislators. Facts checked June 29, 2026.

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The Letter

Subject 100 cannabis licenses are still frozen — let's finish the fix

Rhode Island took a real step forward when Governor McKee signed legislation in June to remove the residency requirement that had been tying up our cannabis licensing process in federal court. That's good news. But right now, roughly 100 license applications — many from social equity applicants who have waited years and spent real money to get here — are still frozen while the Cannabis Control Commission works to get a court order dissolved. These are Rhode Islanders trying to build something, and they're stuck in legal limbo through no fault of their own.

This matters to me because the whole point of our social equity program was to give people from communities hit hardest by the war on drugs a real shot at this industry. Every month those licenses stay frozen is another month those entrepreneurs can't open, can't hire, and can't start paying back what they invested. Meanwhile, the legal market grows around them. That's not fairness — that's a system failing the people it was supposed to help.

I'm asking you to use your position to make sure the Cannabis Control Commission has the full support it needs to move quickly on dissolving that court order and processing these applications without any more unnecessary delays. These applicants did everything right. They deserve a clear path forward.

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Rhode Island just fixed the law that caused three federal lawsuits over our cannabis residency requirement — that's a real win. But about 100 license applications are still frozen because of an existing court order.
A lot of these applicants are social equity licensees. They've been waiting years and spent significant money to get into this process. Every delay costs them real opportunities.
Now that the governor signed the fix into law, I want to know what our representative is doing to make sure the Cannabis Control Commission moves as fast as possible to get that court order lifted and those applications processed.
I'd love to hear what your office is doing to push this across the finish line for those applicants — because I vote and this is the kind of thing I'm paying attention to.

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