MJBizMag January 2023 - 38

New York
Maryland
Off
to the
Races
Rhode Island's recreational
marijuana market launched
on Dec. 1, but more medical
operators are expected to
join the sector in 2023
By Omar Sacirbey
A
s a limited-license market,
Rhode Island will have
restricted opportunities. But
businesses that do win one of the few
licenses will likely enjoy a lucrative
market.
" The population is only a little over
1 million, but there's opportunity, " said
Jon Levine, who helped launch one of
Rhode Island's first dispensaries, the
Thomas C. Slater Center in Providence,
before he became the co-founder and
former CEO of multistate operator
MariMed.
In the first week of sales adultuse
sales, which began Dec. 1, the
Department of Business Regulation
reported that the state's five hybrid
retailers collectively sold $786,000 in
recreational cannabis and $845,400 in
medical marijuana.
Levine forecasts an " uptick " in sales
to Rhode Islanders who previously
traveled to Massachusetts to buy adultuse
marijuana and will now be able to
buy cannabis in their home state.
But getting an adult-use marijuana
business license won't be easy.
38 January 2023 | MJBizMagazine
" There's going to be a lot of
competition going after the limited
number of licenses that are going to be
available in the state. There's MSOs that
have already joined in, and I expect
more to move in. It's a small market,
but it's a very good market for the fact
that it has a lot of cannabis consumers
and supporters, " Levine said.
And because the existing medical
operators were chosen by lottery,
Levine expects new licenses also will be
allotted by lottery.
ADULT-USE SALES LAUNCH
The Rhode Island Cannabis Act calls for
Gov. Dan McKee to create a Cannabis
Control Commission to draft recreational
market regulations and establish
a licensing process. Although that
commission hasn't been established
yet, Levine still expects license winners
to be operational by the end of 2023.
In any event, Rhode Island's existing
medical operators will get first crack at
recreational sales.
On Dec. 1, Rhode Island started offering
$125,000 " hybrid " licenses to the
state's 11 existing medical marijuana
dispensaries, or " compassion centers, "
so they could begin recreational sales.
The existing medical marijuana compassion
centers are supplied by nearly
70 MMJ cultivators that will be granted
licenses to cultivate cannabis for the
recreational market, provided they
are in good standing with the state.
MMJ cultivators can also get processing
licenses and sell branded products to
dispensaries.
The Marijuana Policy Project also
noted that there will be a moratorium
on new cultivator licenses for two years
after the Cannabis Control Commission
releases its final rules and regulations.
RETAILERS
So, where are the opportunities?
The Rhode Island Cannabis Act calls
for the state to issue 24 more retail
licenses, which would bring to 35 the
number of retail outlets in the state.
With 1.1 million state residents, that
equals about 31,000 residents per store.
" There's probably room to expand
from there, " said Bob Wagener, vice
Missouri
RI
MJBizMag January 2023

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